I Dreamed A Dream
by evil-mastermind666
Summary: Post HBP. While looking for Horcruxes, Hermione gets captured, and her memory is taken away! What will happen whilst the rest try to save her? HarryGinny, RonHermione. I stink at summaries, just read it please :D
1. I

**Author's Note: This fanfic is obviously based on Harry Potter; J. K. Rowling owns it all. I'm just borrowing it. You know the drill. Post HBP. Rated M for language, and things in later chapters (I'll warn you now). **

**I**

She lay staring at the ceiling as she had done for as long as she could remember. She did not remember anything at all before this dark room, only in her dreams did she venture beyond her 6 x 6 cell. Fragments came back then, painful scraps of a tall red haired boy and another boy with black messy hair and brilliant green eyes. There was a red haired girl sometimes with them. Many other people came and went, but these three were the ones she saw most.

_Who are they? Who am I for that matter? _she thought often after these dreams. She always found herself awakening from these dreams with tears streaming down her face, and wondered how she had gotten down here. Certainly this foul pace was underground, since she had no window and her door had but a flap that fit a tray of food under twice a day.

_Why am I here? What happened to those people in my dreams?_ _Have I gone mad?_

One night, she dreamt of the boys again. They were younger this time, and they were outside at the edge of a forest looking at a hut with a pumpkin patch. There was a strange creature tied up in it. A few men exited the hut, and one man lifted an axe and executed the creature! The three of them were horrified, then a small creature escaped from the tall red-headed boy's grasp. "Scabbers!" he cried and tried to recover the rat. "Ron!" someone said, and she woke with a start. The red haired boy's name is Ron! Her memory would not serve her further, as hard as she tried to recall the name of the dark haired boy. But at least she got something back!

_If only I could remember my own name…_

• • •

Meanwhile, Ron Weasley was sitting on his bed in the Burrow while Harry Potter was pacing restlessly from one end of the vibrantly orange room to the other. The posters were of the Chudley Cannons, but Ron was not concerned with Quidditch at the moment. He was on the verge of tears, running through his mind how many different and agonizing things that could be happening to Hermione Granger right now while he sat unable to find her. It was tearing him apart. Harry wasn't faring much beter, but at least he was trying to form a plan to find and rescue Hermione.

"Look mate, I know how horrible things are right now – " started Harry.

"They bloody well are! Damn it… Hermione I never thought it would come to this. Fuck, I wish I was in her place..." Ron broke down. Harry was at a loss for words but came and sat on his friend's bed as he sobbed into his hands.

"I love her Harry! I should've told her every day since first year I fancied her, and now she's been captured by the Death Eaters! What the hell are we going to do Harry?" Ron cried, scrubbing his eyes with his sleeve.

"You cut me off before I could tell you my idea," said Harry gently, and for a moment a ghost of his old smile flitted across his face.

"I'm all ears, mate."

"Right. Since the Order hasn't had much luck finding her, we're going to have to try something on our own. I figured we could go for Malfoy, that bastard's had it in for Hermione since first year. I guess he doesn't like the fact that someone Muggle-born is smarter than he'll ever be."

Ron stood up quickly and scrubbed his eyes again. "I'm ready when you are, Harry" was all he said.

"Listen Ron… she's my best friend too, alright? But we can't go right now, your parents will worry," _That's the understatement of the year_, thought Harry to himself; _Mrs. Weasley would have our heads when we came back… _"and Ginny will try to come along too. Plus we should get some more information before we rush off and get ourselves into trouble too." Harry said carefully.

"What if she's dying Harry? What if she's being tortured? What if she's been…" he turned white as a sheet at that thought. "We can't leave her with them another hour! I…" he trailed off, his pain-filled eyes silently begging Harry to tell him this was just a terribly real dream.

"I can't promise anything Ron. You know how things have been in the Order, and everywhere else, since Dumbledore was killed…" Harry stopped, then said, "But I know one thing: no matter what, we'll find her."

**How was that? This is my first fanfic, so please review! Next chapters come up when I can. **


	2. II

**A/N: Good evening ladies and gents! I'm finally back to the story after a few weeks delay (you know how it is, with school and…well, that's pretty much all I do. ha-ha). Didn't get any reviews yet, but here's hoping! Enjoy.**

**II**

Still n her cell, the girl knows as Hermione to all but herself sat facing the door. Her dreams hadn't given her back any other clues to who she was but she at least remembered the name Ron. She held onto it, cherished it with all she had, and wished he could help her.

"Oh please Ron, please find me, I need you," she whispered into the dark.

• • •

Hermione wasn't the only one with dreams of the past. Ron dreamed about Hogwarts together with his two best friends. Tonight he relived that Halloween in first year when Quirrel let the troll into the school and they fought it in the girl's loo. He was so frightened it would hurt her; he didn't realize before that he liked her like that. She was a bit of a know-it-all, but being that smart she had a right to, he supposed.

She was so intelligent, talented, beautiful… He could see her in his mind, how she looked at the ball, so stunning… and when she smiled it lit a fire in his heart that he couldn't control if he wanted to.

Ron turned over in his sleep and sighed. He needed to tell her, tell her he was so sorry he wasn't there, wanted to comfort her in his arms and tell her he loved her with every fibre of his being.

He half-woke, glancing at the clock. 3:30am… _I wonder if she's ok?_ he thought. The scenarios he was trying not to think of came at him with full force:

Hermione under the Crucitatious curse, screaming in agony.

Hermione, dead in a pool of her blood, eyes staring blankly.

Hermione being raped by a Death Eater while other Death Eaters egged him on as she struggled and screamed. Her scream pierced his heart in two, an unending scream of terror and pain.

"Oh Hermione…" Ron whispered, "I'll find you, I promise. Sleep well, love."

• • •

Harry couldn't sleep that night. He sat up in his bed in Percy's old room and remembered that horrible night it all went wrong.

They were looking for the Horcruxes so they could destroy Voldemort when they walked into a trap. It was just the three of them breaking into Borgin and Burkes to try and find the real locket when they set off a ward and 4 Death Eaters came barrelling down the stairs. They can't have been much older than the three Gryffindors, and it appeared that Harry and co. had won the fight… except Ron didn't put up a Shield Charm in time to avoid the Petrificus Totalus one of the Death Eaters shot at him. While Harry was distracted by Ron falling over, a Death Eater hit him on the head and he blacked out. When he regained consciousness a few minutes later, Ron was still cursed on the floor but Hermione was gone!

When Harry undid the curse Ron jumped to his feet swaying and said, "They took her Harry! Where did they go? I couldn't see where they went mate."

When Harry told her he'd been knocked out, Ron swore a string of words his mother would be shocked to hear. Harry waited for Hermione to smack Ron for having such a foul mouth but she wasn't there. He felt rather nauseated.

Harry missed Hermione a lot. There were some things he just couldn't talk to Ron about, like Ginny. She was at Luna Lovegood's, and had been since that morning without Hermione. They'd only been away for 2 and a half weeks looking for the Horcruxes, and Ginny had been upset they'd gone without her. When she found out Hermione was missing, she left too.

Harry realized with a start that it was his birthday, and had been for over 3 hours. He was now 17, no longer a child. He wondered if Ginny would forgive him for breaking up with her.

_She understands why though…right?_ he thought. _It's too dangerous for us to be together, she could get hurt or used by Voldemort, since he knows I'll do anything for the people I love. _That lesson was a hard one for Harry, since it was Sirius that Voldemort used last time. That memory was still raw; Sirius was the closest thing to a parent Harry had ever had, and he lost him in the Department of Mysteries.

Harry knew he still loved Ginny, not like Ron would ever think about talking to him about how he could get back together with her after the war was over. Harry drifted uneasily to sleep, and didn't notice Hedwig return with an envelope, drop it on him, then head out to hunt.

**Read and review people! Thank you! If you have any suggestions about where the story should go, don't hesitate to tell me.**


	3. III

**A/N: Thank you to my lovely reviewers, pettybureaucrat and Ginny, for their enlightening reviews. I'm sorry they're so short Ginny, but I haven't got the attention span to write a lot, ha-ha. I'm glad you think I'm sexually normal by putting Ginny and Harry together. I'm not against non-canon pair-ups, I just can't write that way. Not for this story at any rate. But I'm rambling! I'll get to the chapter now…**

**III**

When Harry awoke, he discovered an envelope sitting on his head, and Hedwig asleep in her cage. _Hedwig, why didn't you just wake me up!_ he thought. Shrugging it off, he opened the letter, read it, and then ran to Ron's room. Her threw the door open and the loud crash didn't seem to wake the sleeping red-head.

"RON! Wake the bloody hell up!" Harry shouted.

"Whassamatter?" he mumbled sleepily, "can't a guy get 5 minutes of sleep in this place?" and promptly buried his head in his pillow. Harry grabbed Ron's head, stuck the letter under his nose without saying a word. Glaring at Harry for interrupting his sleep, he read the letter out loud.

"Dear Harry,

We've gotten word that Hermione might be in Snape's custody. We're not sure where he's at yet, but we'll sniff him out. Make sure you boys don't get into any trouble (tell Ron too). I'll owl you if anything else crops up.

Moony

PS. Under no circumstances are you to come looking for Hermione. Molly would have a fit if you disappeared too!"

Ron looked like he was about to be sick.

"Yeah," said Harry disgustedly, "we'll just sit here like good ickle boys while the Greasy Git has Hermione and has done God knows what to her."

"I don't care, I've got to do something or I'll go mad," said Ron as he rose to his feet, unconsciously clenching his fists and crushing the letter.

"Me too, mate," declared Harry, "so it's settled: we're going to find Snape. Where the hell is he? Ever since he killed Dumbledore he's been on the run."

"Well, it's not like we can owl Lupin back, or he'll know we're gong to find Hermione," said Ron flatly, "and… he'll tell my mum." Ron did not look pleased about the idea of his mother finding out about all this after she'd given them hell about leaving school to "go on holiday" (they hadn't told anyone the real reason they were going, and they definitely weren't going to), and Hermione getting captured was the last straw. According to Ron, she hadn't been that angry with any of her children since Percy became "such a prat".

"Maybe we can!" said Harry, "I've got an idea…"

• • •

Hermione whimpered in her sleep while she relived the terrible events of her capture…

"Come on Mudblood, plead with me to let you go," drawled a cold voice.

"You make me sick Malfoy," she sneered at him.

"_CRUCIO!_"

Hermione screamed in pure agony, straining against the invisible bonds holding her immobile in her dark cell underground, the very same one she was currently dreaming in.

"Want some more, Granger? Hmm, I didn't expect Miss Hermione _Perfect_ Granger to last this long." Draco paused, then continued in little more than a whisper, "There are other ways of convincing you to reveal your secrets than this, you know. I could be murdering your family before your eyes, perhaps even killing the _famous _Harry Potter, or maybe that pure-blood traitor Weasley?"

_No_... she screamed in her mind. Thankfully, she was skilled enough at Occulumency that Malfoy had no clue the anguish that caused her. Outwardly, she gave no sign that she even heard his threats.

Another Death Eater stepped into the room just as Malfoy stepped up to Hermione and reached to undo her robes.

"Surely you don't want to dirty yourself by touching a _Mudblood_?" the Death Eater asked quietly.

"Who asked you, Snape?" Malfoy spat, irritated that his fun had been interrupted.

"If you had any sense at all, you might refrain from mentioning names, foolish boy!" Snape hissed, "You'll get nothing from her by rape. No subtlety at all. Perhaps you should have been a Hufflepuff."

"Go for it then. You won't get farther than I," said Malfoy, then whispered into Hermione's ear.

"I'll be back, don't worry Mudblood. Better hope you talk, or maybe we'll get to know each other better." He stalked from the room without a backward glance at Snape or Hermione. She repressed a shudder at the thought of Malfoy coming near her ever again, especially with that in mind.

Snape snapped her out of her dark thoughts. "You were looking for Horcruxes, weren't you? The Golden Trio of Potter, Weasley and Granger out to save the world."

Too shocked to do anything but stare, Snape continued, "Yes, Dumbledore trusted me with the information. And yes, I am still faithful to him. Spare me your incessant questioning." She had been about to open her mouth, but that made her snap it closed.

The next few minutes were spent in near silence as Snape told an awestruck Hermione everything, from the Unbreakable Vow he swore up to what he'd been doing for the Order.

"…So Hermione, I cannot let you reveal any of this to my colleagues that insist that you know the whereabouts of the rest of the Order of the Phoenix, or you might tell them. However, someone had to know, just in case. After all, the things I have done would make both sides race to kill me," said Snape with a mirthless laugh. "I'll be temporarily removing your memory so you can't tell anyone anything, not even your own name."

"I guess the 'insufferable know-it-all' will finally be silenced, right Professor?" she joked. What might have been a smile briefly passed over Snape's features, and then he raised his wand.

Hermione's world went black.

**How was that? Too much information at once? I tried to make it longer for you, my faithful readers!** **Have a good one, I'll put another one up as soon as it's done. Cheers.**


	4. IV

**A/N: First of all, I apologize for the delay in posting. It's been a trying month and I didn't have much time for anything non-school. Much love to my fabulous readers, especially pettybureaucrat and cherry-cokegirl. I'm glad someone else would like nothing more than to kick Draco where it hurts. However, since he's not real anywhere but our heads and books…**

**Err, the disclaimer is on the first chapter, I own nothing but my crazy imagination. **

**I really like reviews. My muse whispers to me when I read them, and this rabid plot bunny comes up to me and drags me off. It's kind of fun. **

**NOW FOR THE CHAPTER! **

**IV**

Harry stroked Hedwig in an effort to calm her down as Ron paced around the room. _He's going to wear a hole into his floor with all that pacing!_ Harry thought irritably. Pausing to spare a glance at the window, Ron scowled then continued pacing.

There was a spectacular thunderstorm outside the Weasley home. Thunder occasionally shook the house and Harry had a horrible vision of the entire thing coming tumbling down around their ears. Hedwig was trembling visibly due to the ferocity of the storm, combined with the equal ferocity on Ron's face whenever he looked outside or at the now dry owl.

Harry sighed. When he told Ron about the plan he had, the rash Gryffindor didn't think that maybe they should wait until the storm was over to put it into action. It was a very simple plan, really: send Hedwig with a note to Remus, and then follow her on broomstick to wherever he happened to be hiding. _It's amazing how quickly the plan went wrong…_ thought Harry. Ron took Hedwig outside and was mounting up on his broom when his mother found him and threatened to hex him to next Thursday if he didn't get out of the rain. She fussed over Hedwig ("The poor owl, what were you thinking sending her out in this ghastly weather!") and told Ron that he could send a letter with Pig when the storm cleared. Ron however seemed to think it was all Hedwig's fault. Harry shook his head sadly. He wasn't sure why Hedwig couldn't stand thunderstorms like this, but might have something to do with how it might be more terrifying being with an angry Ron and an impatient Harry instead of with her own kind.

Harry felt a pang at this thought. He missed Hermione dearly, and missed Ginny also. Wasn't it enough that Hermione was missing? Couldn't Ginny just come home to him? That was a dangerous thought too, and he pushed it away.

_I can't give in! If I ask for her help she'll just get hurt. Look what happens to everyone I ever cared about! Shake it off Harry…_

Ron finally stopped pacing and lay down glumly on his bed. He stared at the ceiling for a while, then shattered the silence with a hesitant sentence.

"Hey Harry… You know… Ginny might - "

"No way, Ron." Harry stated with finality.

"You don't even know what I'm going to say mate!" Ron said, exasperated. "Would it kill you to listen?"

Harry snorted, thinking of how many times Hermione had said that to both of them over the years, then frowned. "Go on then."

"I've been thinking about it for a while, and Ithinkshemightstilllikeyou". Ron said the last bit a little too fast for Harry to fully comprehend at first. Continuing on while carefully not looking at Harry's facial expression, "She was really… happy with you, and she's not been herself since Dumbledore's funeral." He looked a bit pained that he was admitting that his baby sister should be dating at all, especially since it was his best mate and had broken her heart in the past. "I know that you don't want her to get hurt in the war, but… trying to keep Ginny from doing something is asking for a lot of trouble. I've been on the wrong end of her Bat-Bogey hex more than a few times for things I've done. Plus, didn't Dumbledore say… I mean, isn't love the one thing you've got that You-Know-Who… _V-Voldemort_ doesn't have?"

These words from Ron's mouth were probably the most surprising thing Harry had ever heard. The fact that he actually said Voldemort's name was a cause to examine this carefully. He tried a light-hearted tone,

"Hey Ron, are you feeling ok? You're not under the Imperius or some Death Eater using Polyjuice, are you?"

"Harry! I'm bloody well serious!" Ron looked injured at the suggestion that he might not be able to fight off _Imperio_ if it was cast on him, and Harry laughed.

"I'm just messing with you, mate. All joking aside though, why are you bringing this up now? Surely you don't want your sister to be with such a …" Harry searched for a word, shook his head and said instead, "The whole point of me not being with Ginny was to keep her safe. Voldemort wouldn't hesitate to capture her and use her to get to me."

"Right, you think that being friends with you isn't enough to get someone into trouble? Look at Hermione!" Ron choked on her name, and turned away, his eyes very shiny. He kept going though,

"You think the Order members' families aren't targets anyways? Come on Harry! We've all got bull's-eyes painted on our backs until that bloody madman is taken care of! Hell, she could probably help us find the horcruxes, seeing as she got hoodwinked by one of them. I know you miss her, and I miss her too. It's bloody irritating when your sister avoids you because you're sharing a room with someone she thinks doesn't like her." He dropped the volume of his voice and said, "I miss them both, Harry."

"Me too Ron," is all Harry said.

• • •

Deep underground, Hermione's only indication that there was a storm going on outside was the water that started dripping from somewhere in the hall outside her dank cell. Her ear fixed onto it and after a while she became very irritated with the constant **_drip…drip…drip…_**

"I'm going to go mad if I have to listen to that any longer!" she cried out, unable to take it any longer. Her voice seemed out of place here, as though only silence were permitted. Where did she remember that from? The force of the memory hit her so hard she would have staggered had she been standing.

**FLASHBACK**

All around her were books, some stacked neatly on shelves, while others were haphazardly piled around her at a table. This was her sanctuary, the unbroken silence of the library and the company of books. Furrowing her brow in concentration, she didn't hear anyone come up to her or pull up the chair across from her. Only the feeling of eyes watching her tore her away from her book. She looked up and saw straight into deep brown eyes across from her, seemingly entranced by her. His goofy grin touched her heart as he reached over and took the book from her, whispering, "You would be here. Quit looking things up! Can't you take a break for once?" He stood up and took her hand, the goofy look replaced by something serious.

"Hermione… I…" he trailed off. "You know I wasn't that interested in Lavender right? I mean, she… Alright, I'll admit it, I was jealous of McLaggen and you going to Slug's party, and you with Krum at the ball, and I just wanted to make you feel like I did." His ears were a deep maroon by this point.

She stood up and said softly, "I forgive you," and surprised herself by kissing him right there in the library.

**END FLASHBACK**

_Wow…_ Hermione thought to herself. She laughed and thought, _Not only do I know my name, but apparently someone out there cares about me. _

She lay back down, and for the first time in her memory in this hellish dungeon, Hermione smiled.

**So my faithful readers, like it? Hate it? Have a random comment about nothing in particular? Feel free to review! Wouldn't mind breaking the 10 review barrier wink wink nudge nudge.**


	5. V

**A/N: I'm back guys! I'll keep this ramble short. **

**Sorry it's been so long faithful readers. I've got a relatively free weekend (well, except going to see my sister tomorrow for the day at her university a few hours away from here) but I can't get on the internet at the moment so all I can say is thanks for being here for me. Even if you don't review or anything I still really appreciate you reading this, it means a lot. Chapter time! **

**DISCLAIMER: Oh yeah, in case you didn't know, I really don't own Harry Potter or anything like that. I might be able to afford going to university or a grand piano if I did. -sigh- that piano in my music store is killing me…**

**PS. I've got a bit of a "shower scene" coming up at the end of the chapter, skip it if it's not your thing. It's one of the reasons why I needed to rate this the way I did, right? Enjoy!**

**V**

Harry and Ron were sitting up in Ron's room again, and the storm was still raging outside the window, though with less ferocity as before. Harry felt like he was trying to contain that storm inside himself however, because Ron was getting on his nerves.

"Why don't you just owl her? Or floo her?" Ron asked for the thousandth time that day. Not that Harry was counting. It was just getting really irritating.

"RON!" Harry shouted.

"Yeah, Harry?" Ron looked unperturbed by his friend's outburst.

"If I floo her, will you shut up!"

"Yeah, I will."

"Right then." Harry stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him.

When he was sure Harry had gone down the stairs, Ron broke into loud guffaws at the look on Harry's face when he yelled at him to shut it.

"I can hear you Ron! Shut it!" Harry's voice was muffled but still managed to reach his ears. He just laughed harder.

_Ah, he's too easy to bother these days. _

• • •

Harry sat down at the Weasley's kitchen table, ignoring Ron's display of immaturity. He sighed and put his head in his arms on the table. When his head was down, he didn't see the flames of the fireplace turn from orange to green, but jerked his head up when he heard someone fall over and curse loudly. His breath caught in his throat when he saw who it was, then managed to croak out,

"**Ginny…**" She jumped up from the floor brushing soot off her clothes and hair. _Merlin, you're beautiful no matter what, even covered in soot_ he thought.

"Oh…Harry… I guess I'll go now, then?" She moved toward the door.

"Wait!" She paused, and looked at him. Her once shining eyes were dull and full of pain. "Please, Ginny, I need to talk to you."

She nodded and dropped lifelessly into the chair at the end of the table, eyes downcast. Harry got up and sat in the chair next to her, and moved to touch her hand but she jerked it away from him.

"I was so wrong in June. This isn't easier for either of us to be apart. I…" Harry trailed off. He swallowed hard, and continued in a whisper. "I can't do this alone, Ginny. I… I need you."

Ginny looked up from the table, her eyes brimming with tears.

"You, Harry Potter, are a very stupid boy sometimes." Without warning she threw herself at his neck and started crying soundlessly on his shoulder. Caught off-guard, Harry just wrapped his arms around her and let her cry. When he kissed her head however, she froze and took her arms away from his neck.

"Ok, we need to set some things straight here, Harry. I've missed you like hell while you ditched me to go gallivanting off with Hermione and Ron. When you came back without Hermione, you locked yourself in Ron's room with him with no explanation as to what the bloody hell you three were doing when you got attacked and she was taken! Now _why _would you do that to us? Why would you do that to… me?"

Harry just watched her, transfixed. Her bright orange hair seemed to be glowing in her anger. He knew it was just the firelight reflecting off her hair, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

"Harry!" Her voice snapped him out of it, and he said

"I'm sorry Ginny. I should've told you this when it was happening. Maybe things would've turned out better. Look, maybe we can talk about this after you've had something to eat?" Harry offered, trying to be helpful. She stood up, and in her anger sparks seemed to fly from her eyes.

"Harry James Potter! Stop trying to keep me from the truth, damn it! You may think you're protecting me, but how do you think I'm going to be safe if I don't know what's going on? I'm not a child! I love you, and I don't want you to go off and get killed by You-Know-Who!"

"Voldemort." She flinched. "No Ginny, this is important. Dumbledore…" Harry paused, but went on, "Dumbledore told me once that fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself. And if you can't hear his name, then how can you possibly fight him? If you can't say his name, you're just letting him win."

"Fine… I don't want you to be killed by… Voldemort" She shuddered, and looked like she had just eaten a vomit-flavoured Every Flavour Bean. Harry stood up and hugged her tightly. They fit perfectly together, her forehead nestled in his neck

"Wait… what did you say before?" Harry whispered.

"You heard me. I'm not saying that git's name again today." Ginny whispered back.

"No, before that… You love me?"

She chuckled quietly into his shirt. "You ask me that like you've never heard it before."

"Not from you I haven't. And just so you know… I love you too, Ginny." His voice trembled.

She looked up at him, saw the unshed tears in his eyes and smiled.

"Oh, Harry." She pulled his head down and kissed him, and warmth spread through his whole body. When she pulled away, he was sure she could hear his heart pounding. She grinned naughtily and said teasingly,

"You know Harry if I didn't know better, I'd think you weren't very pleased to see me from the way you kissed me just there –" She was cut off by his lips closing hungrily onto hers. His tongue teased her bottom lip until she opened them and let him in.

Time stood still for the two young lovers as they kissed with passion in the Weasley's small kitchen until –

"Harry! Ginny!" They broke apart and looked guiltily up at Molly Weasley who was holding onto a threatening-looking wooden spoon. She shook it at them for a moment, then smiled and grabbed both of them into a crushing hug.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you two! I knew you'd get back together…" She looked about to burst into tears.

"Mum! Let us go! I've got to go change!" Ginny wriggled out of her mother's arms and tugged on Harry's arm until her mother let him go.

"Oh, you're both covered in soot. Go clean up, dinner's in an hour." At that, Harry and Ginny dashed up the stairs.

"Thank goodness she let us go. I thought I was going to get hit with that spoon," Harry joked as they reached Ginny's door. She giggled, opened the door to her room and stepped in. Harry stopped, unsure of whether or not she wanted him to come in. _I ought to start thinking with my brain instead of …other things right now. She probably just wants to shower and change into fresh clothes. _

Ginny grinned and winked at him as she pulled him in and shut the door. As though she knew what he had been thinking, she said

"I desperately need a shower. I don't suppose…you'd like to join me? You are covered in soot from my clothes." Her cheeks turned slightly pink.

He blushed too. "Won't your mum kill me?"

"Not if she never knows. I'm certainly not going to tell her." Harry thought about this for a moment, and then grinned. Stepping close to Ginny, he whispered into her ear,

"Lead on, my fair maiden."

• • •

Standing in her bathroom (**A/N: I'm not sure if she'd have her own in canon, but I'm all for giving her a separate one from all the boys. It makes my story work, so I'm putting it under "creatively added thingies". If you don't like it too bad! -sticks tongue out**-) with Harry just on the other side of the door, knowing he was most likely naked and awaiting her opening the door, was making her very nervous. She would never admit it, but she'd never actually done this before. Sure, she'd given blowjobs and stuff at school, but she was still a virgin. She was secretly hurt by the vicious rumours spread around the school about her being easy which was why all the guys wanted to date her, or at least pretend long enough to get into her pants. _But Harry loves me for me. Doesn't he?_ She thought back to when they'd dated at school. Most of the "action" had been initiated by her, and she realized that Harry hadn't actually been in a relationship with any other girls except that brief thing with Cho. _He's probably pretty nervous right now too. _She quietly cast a silencing charm, smiled, and opened the door.

He was sitting on her bed, still fully clothed as she walked out of her bathroom holding a towel around her otherwise naked self. He looked up and his jaw dropped. She smiled self-consciously at him and went over to him. He appeared to have lost the ability to speak so she said,

"You alright there, Harry?" She knelt on the floor in front of him holding her towel with one hand and put the other on his knee. She knew it was a bit cruel to be teasing him like this, but it was so much fun! She slid her hand up his leg and saw him swallow hard. Abruptly she stood up and grabbed his hand, then took him into the bathroom with her.

She picked up her wand that she left by the sink and flicked it at the shower. Immediately the water came on, and she put her wand back down. Slipping a hand under Harry's shirt she whispered,

"Are you ready Harry?" He opened his mouth, but nodded instead of speaking. She immediately slid his tee shirt off him.

"Ginny, do you know what you're doing to me?" _He has regained the ability to speak apparently! Excellent _she thought.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about Harry," she said innocently as her hands snuck lower on his torso then undid the button on his jeans. He groaned when she unzipped them and he took things into his own hands, getting out of those confining pants as fast as possible. _Aha, now I know exactly what I'm doing to him_ she thought as she observed him in his boxers. Turning her back to him, she dropped her towel and hopped into the shower. He followed right behind her after he got out of those pesky boxers.

"Ginny, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." His green eyes gazing at her seemed to eat her alive.

"You're not bad yourself, Harry," she said as she ran her hands up his arms and moved close to him. _You know I always wanted a bit bigger of a shower, but I don't think I really need any space right now_, and felt a certain something poking her in the stomach. _Wow his hair is actually lying flat right now! –No, really Ginny? You're just in the shower with him, water running all over his body… -mmm he IS good looking… -Well I'm glad I'm not arguing with myself in my head, because that would be crazy! –Shut up and kiss him!_

He beat her to it, lifting her chin and kissing her with a fiery passion that rivalled the little display that her mum caught them in the middle of in the kitchen. One of his hands snuck from her waist and pinched her bottom while the other slid up and cupped her breast. Their breathing sped up as her lips moved from his down his neck, down his chest until she was kneeling in front of him. She looked up at him, and simply asked,

"Harry?" When he nodded, she ran her tongue over him until he moaned. She was glad of the silencing charm she placed over the room as they explored each others bodies in the warm water of her shower.

**How about that, guys? Too much, too little? Click the little "review" button to tell me what you think! This has been the longest chapter yet! I've been getting pleas for long chapters, but was thinking of breaking this into two separate ones. Don't hesitate to drop me a line! **


	6. VI

**A/N: Hey guys, it's me again. Nothing's going on now, so I'll put another chapter on. Right-o! Enjoy it. Oh and if you had a problem with me not addressing the Hermione issue in the last chapter, sorry but it had to be done. Plus, it gives you something to wonder about. I'm the master of suspense! Ha-ha.**

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah I really AM Jo Rowling, which is why I'm on FanFiction, instead of in my publisher's office telling him that I'm going to make another million or three with my amazing ideas. (Sarcasm may or may not have been used, please don't attack me. I don't really have delusions of grandeur...often.)**

**VI**

Hermione awoke to the sound of a tray being pushed under her door.

"Hello? Who's there?" she said sleepily. She heard a frightened squeak and feet shuffling away quickly. She sighed, then started eating the stew on her tray.

_Hmm, I never thought that anyone else was around. Though, how could they not be? Someone had to have put me here, and they obviously feed me. _Hermione puzzled over this for the remainder of her time awake before she inexplicably fell asleep again. As she drifted off she thought, _Why am I here? And why am I always so tired? That can't be good…_

Her dreams this time consisted of blurred images flying around her, whirling faster and faster until they dissolved into a bright white light, and then suddenly complete darkness. She could hear people talking, but there were so many of them that she couldn't recognize any voices. The voices faded away until she heard but two voices: a deep, almost silky voice, and a high squeaky one.

Deep voice: "She spoke to you?"

Squeaky voice: "I told you, yes she did! You need to give her more sleeping potions!" He sounded positively frantic.

Deep voice: "That will not be necessary, and indeed it would be detrimental for my…guest. Too much and she may fall into a sleep too deep to awake, and if that is to happen it will mean both of our lives. You would do well to remember that, Wormtail."

Squeaky voice: "The Dark Lord would never kill me; I gave him my right hand and my complete devotion!"

What sounded like a snort was heard from the deep voiced man (she assumed they were both men. The squeaky one could be female, however something told her that would be untrue).

Deep voice: "Do you wish to discover if the Dark Lord would dispose of you? I'm not sure why he suffers such fools as you."

The high voiced one let out a squeak just like a rat as she heard something slam against wood, and the deep voiced man hissed something that she couldn't make out. Hermione pictured a large black cat holding down a grey rat, and smiled in her sleep as she drifted into more pleasant dreams.

• • •

After the shower, Harry hurried to Ron's room to find a change of clothes. Ron gave him an odd look when he came in looking extremely pleased with himself.

"Mum was shrieking something about Ginny being home. I don't suppose you got a hold of her through the floo?"

"She came home when I went downstairs and we talked, and your mum came downstairs and saw us together." _Yeah, you could call it that,_ he thought. _As long as he doesn't figure out that I haven't been talking to his mum for the past half an hour…_

"Oh." He paused. "Why were you so long then?"

_Shit._ "Well, Ginny and I wanted to talk some more and since Ginny was covered in soot your mum sent her to get cleaned up, so I went and talked to her for a bit." _And that is as far as I can stretch that truth!_ thought Harry worriedly.

Ron seemed to buy that, and simply asked, "When's dinner?" as his stomach growled.

Harry laughed and said, "It should be half an hour, according to your mum." Looking out the window, Harry sighed. "I wish this storm would let up soon."

Ron looked at his hands, and then stood up angrily, "I feel so helpless, just sitting here, waiting for the storm to move on, and waiting for some news about Hermione. It's useless, and can't take it anymore!"

"Come on, mate. Want a game of chess?" _Maybe checkmating me several times in a row will get him to cheer up a bit._

"Yeah, sure. I bet I can beat you in 12 moves."

"You're on. I can probably make it to 15."

"You wish!"

The boys laughed and ran down the stairs to the living room where they left the chess board from their last few games. Upon realizing that Ron could be brought out of any bad mood by sitting by a fire and utterly destroying Harry in a few games of chess, Harry used this to try and get Ron's mind off of missing Hermione. Ron focused on the strategy at hand instead of beating himself up about not being able to do anything to help, and was moderately upbeat for a few hours afterwards. _I bet Hermione wished he would use that concentration with his schoolwork, he might be able to get through an essay without bugging her for help._ That thought was accompanied by a memory of Hermione, Ron and himself sitting by the Gryffindor common room's fire, the boys with a chess board in front of them and Hermione curled up in her favourite armchair with some huge tome from the library she'd call "a bit of light reading" with Crookshanks on her feet. Harry shook his head and tried to focus on the game at hand. _ I know I'm going to lose anyway, but if I don't give him my best game he'll feel like I'm just giving in. Besides, I want to prove him wrong. 12 moves, ha! I can make it to 15…_

A knock at the door interrupted their game. Harry went with Ron to answer it, and as he opened the door, Tonks and a barely conscious Remus Lupin collapsed onto Ron, bleeding from gashes all over his arms and chest.

Harry shouted for Molly to get the over here as Ron half carried Remus to the couch in the living room and Harry helped Tonks to an armchair as she protested weakly that her leg was fine, just sore.

"How did you ever manage to get here? You two look like hell!" said Ron bluntly.

"Ronald!" his mother cried, "Go get your father, tell him to invite Kingsley to dinner. We might need to call a meeting." Ron dashed out of the room, and Harry looked at Tonks with amusement. She laughed and said, "Ron's pretty subtle, isn't he?"

Molly glared at them both and resumed patching Remus up. Muttered remarks to the effect of, "Every time I see you two it seems like I'm healing some battle wounds" came from the corner of the room. Remus was wincing in pain whenever Molly jabbed him extra hard with her wand. ("If you just stopped squirming around I might be able to do this faster, Remus!")

"All done, Remus, relax for now. Oh, Tonks dear, your ankle…"

"Not to worry Molly, merely a flesh wound!" Tonks winked at Harry, who laughed at the reference. It was lost on Molly however.

"What are you talking about? Your ankle might be broken!" Tonks sighed as Molly cast a charm to check the damage on her body.

"As I thought, broken ankle, bruised all up your leg, you didn't tell me about a bump on the head…" she trailed off and gasped. "Tonks, you aren't…"

"What's wrong now?" Tonks asked anxiously. Harry felt like an intruder and sighed with relief when Ron walked in with Ginny, his father and Kingsley in tow.

"Congratulations, dear! Oh I didn't know… How far along are you? I suppose I could cast another charm…" Molly hugged her and everyone else continued to look extremely confused.

"Did we miss something?" asked Arthur.

"Now, now, Tonks, no reason to hide the good news!" Molly said, beaming.

"Hold on just a moment." Remus said from the couch. He sat up painfully, and looked Molly straight in the eye. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

It seemed like everyone clicked in at once. Tonks looked like she was going to faint and mumbled something suspiciously like "so that's what's been going on". Ginny went over and hugged her, and the men went over to congratulate Remus.

"You sly dog, Moony!" Arthur shook his hand, and grinned, "I'll fetch some Firewhiskey. This news deserves a little something stronger than the Butterbeer set out for dinner." Kingsley clapped him on the shoulder, and Harry sat beside him on the couch. Ron didn't look like he knew what to do with himself so he plunked himself down in another chair after congratulating Remus.

"About your letter, Moony –" Harry began but was cut off by Arthur returning with a bottle of Firewhiskey and a few shot glasses.

"I'll talk to you and Ron about that later, alright?" Harry nodded, and turned down the shot glass from Arthur.

"I'm not really sure about this, Mr. Weasley –" Harry protested

"Go on, Harry," said Ron, "It's a celebration right dad?"

"Indeed," said Arthur. Everyone (except Ginny and Tonks, who weren't drinking) raised their glasses to the couple and then downed them.

Molly went over to Remus and hugged him, saying, "Children are a handful especially the first time around. We're always here for you two. Oh I've got to start knitting!"

Ginny groaned when she heard that, and Ron laughed. _I wish Hermione was here too,_ Harry thought.

• • •

Later that night when everyone was going to bed, Ron snuck back downstairs with Harry to talk to Remus. Mum specifically told them not to bother him, which was why they had to be quiet or risk the wrath of a woman with knitting needles.

They found him in the living room staring into the fire. He looked up and smiled tiredly at them, and gestured for them to be quiet. Tonks was snoring gently on the couch he had occupied earlier. She apparently refused to turn Ginny out of her bed since she just arrived back home and instead crashed on the couch. Ron sat in an armchair while Harry just sat on the floor holding a pillow. They had a quiet few moments, which Tonks shattered when she let out a particularly loud snore. Harry and Ron barely suppressed their laughter, and Remus chuckled quietly.

"Wow, mate, how'd you get any sleep?" asked Ron, half jokingly.

Remus looked at him with a serious look on his face and said solemnly, "We didn't sleep much," They all chuckled at that.

It was Ron's turn to be serious as he leaned forward and asked, "Have you gotten any further on where she might be?" There was no need to clarify who "she" was.

Remus sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. Harry took this as his cue. "I'm pretty sure your news isn't the greatest, Moony, because if it was you wouldn't have waited around to say it. But we really, really need to know what you know, even if we can't actually do anything to help." _Though I'll try anything to get to her, _thought Ron.

"I've been looking for clues with Mundungus and his more "unsavoury" acquaintances as to who might be keeping her. We haven't entirely ruled out the Malfoys, but since Lucius is in Azkaban, it's highly unlikely that Draco would be able to hold Hermione by herself. We've heard some interesting things about the break-in, but nothing definitive about any captives."

That piqued Ron's interest. "Interesting things? Like what?"

Remus grinned, "Something about a few Aurors and some in training who came for a raid and the group of Death Eaters apparently killed 5 of them, captured 2 and the other 2 ran away like scared rabbits."

Ron snorted. _That's about as likely as Snape wearing bright pink robes and fluffy bunny slippers,_ he thought, and outright laughed at the mental picture that thought presented.

"Shh, it seems Harry has had a long day." Remus said, pointing to Harry. He was stretched out in front of the fire with the pillow under his head.

"More like too much Firewhiskey."

"Perhaps that too." They both smirked, and Ron stood up to leave. "I better get to bed, d'you reckon we ought to wake up Sleeping Beauty there?"

"No, I'll watch over the two of them. It would be best to speak with him in the morning at any rate. Good night Ron."

"Good night Moony." As he was walking out the door, he turned and said, "Oh, good luck with Tonks. Be careful she doesn't drop the baby on its head, yeah?"

Remus rolled his eyes and said, "I'll watch out for that, thanks Ron."

**Love it? Hate it? Review it! Thanks to you for sticking it out and waiting for these chapters. It's been tough trying to narrow down which of the billions of ideas I've had into a conceivably believable plot. I think most of the kinks have been worked out, but let me know if you spot something weird or out of place. I try to make it as HBP compatible as possible, though I'm a bit rusty on some fine details. I've only read it 10 or 20 times rather than the hundreds with the others grin.**


	7. VII

**A/N: I'm back! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in so long. (Long-winded explanation to follow…)**

**My computer crashed completely. Not only did we have a bunch of viruses, but the actual fans inside of it fell apart. It was a bad scene, and I tried to get it fixed for a month till I gave up and got a whole new computer. Hopefully this will never EVER happen again. I lost my files of the previous stuff I posted here however, so it's been tough trying to get it out. **

**I really appreciate your patience with me! You rock my world. **

**And obviously I own none of the characters. I just like to play with them. I'll put them back… later.**

**VII**

The Burrow was very quiet during the night considering the amount of noise that went on normally during the daylight hours, with the silence being broken by an occasional snore from Tonks, until…

_**THUD.**_

Harry awoke with a start. He felt around for his glasses and wand, and found them on the floor beside his pillow, then muttered, "_Lumos_."

Ginny stopped walking and turned around, embarrassed.

"I was just… oh it's silly," she mumbled. "Oh, alright; I was watching you sleep. You just… you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb you. I was getting sleepy, so I thought I'd go to bed. I knocked a book off the table." Her face was redder than her hair.

Harry smiled and said, "I actually thought it might be Tonks."

"Nah, look at her. Her and Prof- I mean, Remus, look pretty comfortable."

Harry turned to the couch and saw that Tonks was being cradled by Lupin. His arms were around her middle, as though protecting his unborn child. She let out an unladylike snore, making Ginny giggle quietly.

"So… did you get kicked out of Ron's room, or do you just like sleeping on the floor?" Ginny teased.

It was Harry's turn to be embarrassed. "I guess I fell asleep here. Ron and I came back to talk to Moony about …some things."

Ginny stooped over and grabbed Harry's hand, helping him off the floor. Then, she winked and said, "I can think of more comfortable places for you to sleep, Harry."

He allowed himself to be led upstairs to her room, leaving the sleeping werewolf and his lover in peace.

• • •

Meanwhile, Snape was dealing with a dirty rat. _Wormtail is merely another obstacle my way; I cannot allow him to affect me. The Dark Lord obviously wants to keep Miss Granger, and I'll be damned if that disgusting rat ruins my plan. Albus' sacrifice must not be in vain, _he thought as he sneered at Peter's unconscious body on the floor, and then sighed. _I suppose I'll have to move him from the basement. The Dark Lord would not be pleased if I allowed his pet to die down here. Not that he'll be mourned of course. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, he's already dead._

_It's not as though I'll be mourned either, not after this. Holding a child prisoner, killing my mentor the only person who gave a damn about me, being a bloody Death Eater…_Snape scowled, then pointed his wand at Wormtail.

"Mobilicorpus." Wormtail's dead weight floated behind Snape eerily as he ascended the stairs. Before closing the door, he stepped back and peered behind him, listening in the semi-darkness. His ears caught a faint scratching noise. Dismissing it as Wormtail's fellows, he continued up and out of the basement and into the kitchen.

After dropping Wormtail unceremoniously onto his kitchen floor, Snape took a shot glass down and opened up his trusty Firewhiskey. He briefly wondered why he bothered with the glass, then shrugged and poured. Despite the vicious rumours to the contrary, Snape was brought up well. Sure, he became a Death Eater, that doesn't mean that he will drink straight from the bottle!

Leaving with the glass in one hand and the bottle in the other, he went to his study. _Why does the Dark Lord want Granger? She hasn't said a word about Harry since she began her stay here, _(here he grimaced) _and won't until the memory charm wears off. Perhaps it's just to rattle the boy's chain. His hero-complex will get him killed one of these days. Insufferable Gryffindors._ Snape downed a fourth shot, seemingly unaware that he had had the first few. _I can't let her become another one of the little playthings that Lucius used to have. _Comprehension dawned upon him.

"He doesn't expect me to fuck a student, does he!" he thought aloud, slightly slurring due to the amount of alcohol he'd imbibed already.

One of the things Snape hated most about being a Death Eater, besides having to bow before a snake-like madman while pretending to support his insane ideals, was the expectation that he would be a part of the rape and murder of innocent people. It was bad enough when they were magical, but the Muggles couldn't even defend themselves. The thought of his past deeds made him gulp down another shot, the alcohol burning its way down his throat. At least most times he was exempt from the "fun", as Lucius put it, due to his presence being needed at Hogwarts.

After finishing off the rest of the bottle, he staggered up to his bedroom, leaving Wormtail on the kitchen floor still unconscious.

• • •

As the grey light of dawn touched the windows of the Burrow, Ron was still awake. He figured if he couldn't sleep, he might as well plan for the next step. Seven years of being around Harry and Hermione had taught him something: plans might not work out properly, but no plan at all can get you killed. Plus, there was chess to consider. If you don't have a plan, you can lose pretty quickly.

He moved from the window and to his trunk. It was half-open, with school clothes still practically spilling out. He rooted around for a while for a quill and parchment, then sat on his bed and started writing. He meant it to be battle plans, but it turned out to be something else entirely:

_Hey Hermione,_

_I'm sorry I got you into this. Well, you wouldn't have let me and Harry _(he paused and frowned; she would point out that it would be grammatically correct for him to say "Harry and I", but shrugged and moved on as always) _go into danger without a level headed person to keep us from doing something even stupider than usual. Gods, I miss you. I'm not very poetic, and I haven't read anywhere near as many books as you, but I once read something that stuck with me: "The course of true love never did run smooth". (I remember you telling me to read that guy's plays). Things aren't very good right now. I don't know where you are, I don't know if you're safe, I don't know if you're hurt or if you need me… but I do know you're alive. I love you so much, Hermione. If you ever get When you get to read this, it might seem a little… unexpected, but... I can't live without you 'Mione. I don't want to try. So, when I find you, I'm going to ask you to marry me. It'll be hard, because I don't have much money, or brains, or anything to offer you but my love. I mean, if you don't want to, if it's too fast, I'll wait. I'd wait forever for you. _

_Love always,_

_Ron_

Ron trailed off, his quill tickling his nose. He smiled, and then wrote at the bottom of the letter,

_PS. Please say yes_

He placed the letter to dry by the window, and went down to the kitchen to eat. He thought, _Can't do any planning on an empty stomach, can I?_

**I wrote most of this under the influence of 2 hours sleep the night before, and being at 3 in the morning, it may not be fabulous. I had to get it out, however, or I'd consider myself abandoning you, which is inexcusable. It's not meant to be too much more than a bridge from one point to the next. I'm trying to build up Harry and Ginny's relationship while showing that Ron and Hermione's is pretty serious. Am I succeeding? Failing? Do you even care? Concrit or flames, all are reviews to me. **


	8. VIII

**Author's Note: I'm back! I'm terribly sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I have a good excuse though… I've been super busy, with Les Miserables and troubles with friends, and boys, and just… stuff. Life happens, you know? **

**In other news, I've been chugging away at a new project for FanFiction, another Harry Potter. It is proving to be angsty and sad, and keeps me busy during calculus when I get bored or inspired (funny how those two coincide for me, eh?). I just wish I could listen to music whilst writing it, but my teacher definitely wouldn't go for that idea. It's a pity, really; that could get the creative juices going quite well. Alas. **

**This chapter was like pulling teeth. Lots and lots of teeth. And doing fillings. No root canals, but it was a near thing. I just… I'm not great at writing this sort of Voldy-scene. He's so… what's the word I'm looking for… predictable. You have to write him a certain way or it sounds craptacular, and it gets me down. **

**I hope you enjoy it; it took me a while to get it right. And now to end this epic note with a disclaimer!**

**DISCLAIMER: I only borrow them to play with in my little mind. I'll put them back…maybe. Ha, just kidding. JKR and her team of lawyers would kick my butt if I didn't. Because SHE owns Harry Potter and all the bells and whistles that go along with that universe, not me. **

**VIII**

'_Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!'_

'_Stand aside, you silly girl … stand aside, now …'_

'_Lily, come away from him, you can have more children, just please step away from the boy and He'll spare you!'_

'_Not Harry! Please … have mercy … have mercy …'_

'_Lily, listen to me, I'm begging you to step aside!'_

'_She has had her chance, Severus. Leave her be, her decision is made.'_

'_No! Reconsider Lily, please…'_

'_Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead –'_

'_As you wish, Lily. AVADA KEDAVRA!' _

The Dark Lord's high-pitched cackle rang in Snape's ears as he shot up in bed, panting from the dream. _If only it wasn't real… if only it didn't happen that way… _Snape thought as he fought to control his breathing.

"Hold on a minute, what happened last night?" he wondered out loud. "Wormtail, kitchen, Firewhiskey… oh there's my problem." He shrugged, and looked down. His sleeping attire consisted of yesterday's pants and one sock, and the rest of his clothes were strewn around his room. He sighed and wondered if he'd ever see the other sock again, then got clean clothes on and went downstairs.

Wormtail was up and making breakfast when Snape emerged from his bedroom. Apparently being Stupefied and left to recover on the cold kitchen floor didn't improve the cringing rat's disposition, because he glared at Snape as he sat down at the table. Wormtail practically threw the burnt toast and cold oatmeal at him, and then sat down with his own meal of slightly less burnt toast and oatmeal.

"Sleep well, vermin?" Snape sneered venomously.

"No thanks to you," Wormtail retorted.

"I could have left you in the basement, be grateful."

"Oh yes, I'll be grateful to you for also forbidding me to enter that girl's cell to have some fun. You have her in a drugged sleep, she wouldn't even notice." Wormtail's voice took on an even whinier tone, if possible.

"Silence! I will not allow anyone to have any… _fun_ with the Granger girl. Do you really think she will tell us anything useful if you decide to rape her?" Snape's face twisted into a frightening scowl, and Wormtail unconsciously shrank away from him.

"B-b-but Severus, she hasn't t-told us anything yet anyways, what's the h-harm?"

"You disgust me." Snape's tone was one of finality, and Wormtail realized he wouldn't win this fight. Not this morning at least.

Snape's Mark began to burn, not like when he was being summoned, more like when the Dark Lord was near at hand.

"Severus? What's happening?"

"Can't you feel your arm, you dolt? The Dark Lord is approaching the house."

Wormtail squeaked in terror. Snape was inclined to agree. _We haven't reported any progress with Miss Granger, and he's coming to investigate. Oh sweet Merlin, what if he recognizes the spell and calls me on it?_ Snape forced himself to remain calm and push any thoughts and memories that could get him killed or worse into the deep recesses of his mind, where even the Dark Lord would have trouble locating them behind his Occulumency shields.

The front door clicked open and the Dark Lord stepped into the house, followed closely by Nagini, who departed from her master's side to explore the house. The two men in the kitchen stood and bowed as Voldemort entered the kitchen.

"Ah, Severus, Wormtail. How good it is to see you again after so long." His red eyes shone with a slightly deranged glow, which did not bode well for either of them. Wormtail spoke up,

"My Lord, I am so pleased to see you –"

"Silence, rat! I do not wish to speak with you. Severus, have you made any progress with the Mudblood?"

"No, Master. I believe she would not react well to the more crude methods of interrogation, and as such have been hesitant to use them. Thus far, I have kept her drugged downstairs." He felt Voldemort pushing into his mind to seek deception and other details. Upon finding what he sought, the Dark Lord laughed.

"So, Wormtail wishes to take the maidenhood of this little Mudblood?"

Wormtail looked slightly hopeful and said, "Yes Master."

"I'm afraid you will be disappointed. I planned on allowing Severus the honour of desecrating her body. You will have to wait until the next Revel to have a Mudblood or Muggle of your own, my rat-like servant."

Severus felt his breakfast attempting to return but quelled it swiftly. An idea occurred to him.

"My Lord, if I may make a suggestion?"

"Of course."

"Perhaps I should attempt to win the girl over. She is a very trusting student, if she believes I am going to rescue her or set her free, she may speak to me."

The Dark Lord looked like he was actually considering it. _It's a good sign. Perhaps I can save this one…_ Voldemort interrupted his thoughts.

"This plan has merit, Severus. I am quite glad I have some faithful followers with some intelligence. I can always find those whose forte is brute strength, but intellect is highly valued."

"Thank you, Master."

He looked at Wormtail and grimaced. "Oh Wormtail, what am I to do with you? Have you been a help to Severus, or have you been too busy lusting after the girl? I will have to remove you from the temptation." He levelled his wand at him. "But first, _Crucio!_"

Wormtail crumpled to the floor screaming and thrashing. Voldemort ended the curse, and Wormtail lay on the floor twitching weakly.

"Let that be a lesson to you, my pet; never assume you have my favour. You may be unpleasantly surprised, as today." He turned back to Severus. "Now, you have my permission to do what you will with the girl. Do not kill her unless she is proving too difficult, but in that case make sure her body is deposited on the Weasley's doorstep." Here he smiled, which was more frightening than his grimace. "I'm sure they will be pleased to see her."

All Snape could do was nod and murmur "As you wish, my Lord. I am your humble servant."

Voldemort turned to him again and said, "Oh, before I go, Severus; you have my permission to use the Malfoy cottage to hold the Mudblood. I hear it is quite beautiful, and secluded. We wouldn't want her to escape, or for anyone to find the pair of you." He grinned and his red eyes pierced into his mind with the message: _Do not even contemplate setting her free, my boy. I would be very disappointed in you if she managed to escape your care._ He spoke again: "Come Wormtail, you and I must leave Severus to his packing up for his trip with his student." With a hiss, he turned and exited the kitchen with Wormtail limping behind. Nagini returned to her master and they left Spinner's End.

After he was sure they were gone, Snape let out a sigh of relief as he sat down. _That bought me a little more time. The use of Malfoy's cottage is an interesting development. The Dark Lord trusts me enough to let me stay with the girl but not enough to let me keep her here where those who can rescue her would find her much more easily. Now, to see to Miss Granger…_

He got out of his chair and headed toward the stairs, then hesitated. _I should pack before I collect the girl. Who knows what she'll do if I go down there?_ He nodded to himself and went upstairs to pack a trunk.

• • •

Hermione paced her cell, fed up with her lack of memory and her stiff muscles. _How long have I been here? I can't remember how many times I've fallen asleep here, but it seems like such a long time since I've seen another human being _Hermione thought.

"Why am I here? What have I done wrong? Why can't I remember anything? Was there anything to even remember?" she thought aloud, her voice cracking a bit from disuse.

She heard a door open somewhere and stood still, scarcely daring to breathe. Soft footfalls approached her door, and she heard a dull thud.

"Excuse me, Miss Granger, are you awake?" said a deep voice. Her eyes widened as she recognized that voice from the dream about the black cat and grey rat. She was so startled that she didn't think before she spoke,

"Are you the black cat?"

"Pardon me!"

"I recognize your voice, but it was in a dream about a big black cat which was you, and a scrawny little rat with a squeaky voice. So my question is valid to me, as I have never seen you in my life…that I remember."

He laughed and said, "You were always perceptive, Miss Granger. I am quite sure you know who I am, somewhere deep in your subconscious." Here he paused for a moment, then went on. "I do not intend to harm you, and I hope you do not wish to harm me. I will be opening the door in a moment, but I would like to make it clear to you that I can defend myself should you attempt to attack me."

"Why would I want to attack you?" Hermione was thoroughly confused. Then: "Hey wait a minute, did you lock me in here? Is that why I'd want to hurt you?"

He sighed and said, "I have been your caretaker here. I did not capture you, nor did I particularly wish for you to be in my care, but better me than …others." Hermione could feel how uncomfortable he was with the topic, so she changed the subject.

"Do I get to come out now? This cell is too small to even pace in."

"Yes, I am taking you to a …colleague's summer home, we will be safer there."

"Right now all I want to do is get out of here and get clean, but when we get there I fully expect an explanation for all of this."

The door slowly creaked open. Standing there was a very tall man dressed impeccably in black, with black hair and black eyes. She looked down at her own clothes and grimaced. Her once white shirt was now grimy, and her jeans were slightly torn in the knees on top of the dirt. She did a double take when she looked back at him, and cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow. He seemed uncomfortable with that also, and asked irritably,

"Is there some sort of problem with my robes?"

"Yes. Why on earth are you wearing robes? Are you one of those crazy Dungeons and Dragons nuts who takes the game far too seriously, or thinks they're in the Lord of the Rings? Because, I'm sorry to break it to you, but magic doesn't exist." She rolled her eyes at him.

He looked at her like she was the crazy one.

"Not only is magic real, but I am a wizard, and you, Hermione, are a witch."

"And you expect me to believe this how?"

He reached into his pocket, took out a piece of wood about a foot long, and waved it at the trunk she didn't realize was sitting next to the door. It lifted up off the ground. She gasped and said,

"No way! You're putting me on. This is some sort of trick."

"I am afraid not."

"Can you make magical potions? Do those even exist?"

He laughed out loud again. "Yes, they exist. I am your potions teacher at Hogwarts, one of the magical schools in Britain."

"Wow, this is a lot to take in."

"When you regain your memory everything will become clear. Now let us go." He turned and walked to the stairs, the trunk floating beside him. She discovered he was a very fast walker, and fell behind quickly.

"Please wait! I haven't walked properly in… well, you'd probably know better than I, seeing as I can't remember anything from before," she panted. He stopped and waited for her to catch up and they finally got to the stairs. He offered her his arm to aid her in climbing the steep stairs, and she quietly thanked him. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he showed her to the back door and they ended up in a tiny back garden. He motioned for her to hold onto his arm again.

"What next, are we waiting for the next magic carpet?" she joked.

"Those are illegal in Britain. We will be Apparating close to the cottage. There will be a slight hike to get there, but the wards won't let us any closer."

"Okay…"

"Close your eyes. Trust me when I say it's easier," he said, and half-sneered at her.

She closed her eyes and gripped his arm tightly. She felt like she was being squeezed, then suddenly the squeezing stopped and she tumbled to the ground. Upon opening her eyes, she saw the man standing over her shaking his head. He helped her to her feet.

"Quite the gentleman, aren't you?" she quipped.

"I was raised that way," he said stiffly.

"It wasn't meant as an insult. It's not every day that someone takes care of me. The boys are overprotective, but they do it because they think I can't do anything myself," she said without thinking. He stared at her. She stared back until she burst out,

"What!"

"Did you… remember that?"

She paused and realized what she just said.

"I guess I did," she said slowly, "but I don't really know who the dark haired boy is. The tall red-head is Ron, I'm pretty sure." He looked pained.

"I'm not the one who should tell you about them. I hope your memory returns, you three are very close." He turned and started walking through the trees, leaving her with her jumbled thoughts.

**And that's it for tonight! Hopefully it'll be up soon, as the computer I'm on right now doesn't even have a CD-drive, let alone Internet access. I've got to use floppy disks to transfer the files. It's a bit sketchy, but at least it hasn't overheated on me…yet.**

**I'm flirting with the idea of an HG-SS _interesting _encounter, but don't want to alienate anyone. Thoughts?**

**So, I hope you enjoyed it after so long, and I will dance if I see some emails in my inbox saying I've got reviews! I leave you with my favourite quote: _"If music be the food of love, play on."_ Sweet, sweet Bard, how I love thy works. **


	9. IX

**A/N: No messing around this time, I'm getting down to business promptly. Just a disclaimer then story-time!**

**DISCLAIMER: If I came up with Harry Potter and all related delicious-ness, don't you think I'd be rolling in the dough, as opposed to Miz Rowling? Yeah, thought so.**

**IX**

She hurried to catch up to him as he strode away as though the hounds of hell were after him. He slowed again to accommodate her once he realized that she could not keep up with his longer gait, and they continued on in silence. Hermione had enough of silence however; all that she had known was the silence, and it was beginning to grate on her that there was someone with which she could converse and apparently knew about her life, but refused to speak. She did sense that disturbing him at this moment could mean that he might do something with that innocuous-looking stick which would be painful, embarrassing, or both. When the trees started to thin out and they reached a clearing with nothing in it. She looked at him and decided that she could break the silence.

"There's nothing here."

He scowled at her, looking like he was barely suppressing the urge to say something extremely cutting and sarcastic. "Not that we can see yet. Patience, I've got to do some foolish wand-waving."

She grinned, _I know I've heard that phrase somewhere, but there's no time to ask now I suppose. _

• • •

This trek through the forest was getting to Severus, there was no denying it. The odd silence of the girl was unnerving also. He found himself glancing at her periodically to make sure she was even still there. _She never missed an opportunity to pick a person's mind, _he thought idly. Her hair was tangled beyond belief, and yet it still seemed to shine in the dim light of the forest… _Stop that train of thought, you dirty old man! You are - were her teacher, and possibly old enough to be her father. _A stray thought was his undoing: _She turns 18 in September; she's already of age…_ He stopped walking, not realizing till he stopped that they had arrived in the cottage's clearing. He could sense the wards bristling with the arrival of a "Mudblood". She brought him back to reality with a statement of the obvious,

"There's nothing here."

He attempted to control himself. _No need to snap at her, she doesn't know what is going on in your filthy mind, _he thought. Instead of the usual sneer he would employ with students, he merely said, "Nothing that we can see yet. Patience, I've got to do some foolish wand-waving." _That could have been considered nice Severus, what on earth is wrong with you! _ he berated himself mentally. He knew what was wrong with him; there was nothing he could do about it just now, however. Instead he composed himself to detangle the wards from around the cottage. At least, those designed to keep those of Muggle heritage away from there. _I suppose the only reason they don't attack me is because of my mother,_ he thought bleakly.

After a few complicated wand movements and half-murmured Latin phrases, Severus dropped his wand arm and motioned for Hermione to accompany him to the now visible cottage, ignoring her gasp of surprise at the building's reappearance. He opened the door and waited expectantly. Then:

"Miss Granger, it would be prudent to enter. You expressed a wish to acquaint yourself with the bathing facilities, I believe?" he said in a mocking tone. She ignored his attempts to bait her and thanked him for holding the door for her as she entered.

• • •

Harry snuck up to his room as the sun was rising, feeling quite pleased with himself. Sure, he and Ginny hadn't _slept together_ in the interesting sense of the phrase, but what they were doing in that bed was anything but sleep. He wasn't tired; in fact Harry was wide awake now. Creeping silently up the stairs he heard someone who was less careful coming down them. Harry panicked: those were definitely Ron's footsteps, and he did not want an interrogation about just what he was up at this hour doing. In his terror he froze, never a good idea when in Ron Weasley's path, or a Bludger's path. Ron wasn't watching where he was going, therefore completely missed the fact that Harry was also on the steps.

_**THUD. Thud, thud, thud, CRASH**._

Ron had just walked into Harry on the stairs, and proceeded to fall down the stairs with him. They both knocked their heads on the floor, and Harry was seeing Snitches.

"Bloody hell mate, watch where you're going, eh!"

"I could say the same to you, Ron."

Just then, Ginny poked her head out her door and saw the two of them sprawled on the floor in a heap. She seemed surprised, but quickly dissolved into giggles when seeing the identical scowls on their faces and their oblivious-ness to any observers in their argument over which was the bigger idiot in this instance. They both looked up quickly to see Ginny in stitches over their predicament.

"You oaf –"

"It was your bloody fault –"

"No way!"

"Yes it was, you're blind without your glasses, prat –"

"I'm wearing them!"

Just then, Molly Weasley entered the hallway.

"Boys, get off the floor, it doesn't matter how you got there. Ginny, control yourself, dear. The three of you will get dressed and help me with breakfast, since you can't seem to let anyone else sleep around here." She went to the kitchen muttering about the trouble boys will get into, even without the twins.

Ginny helped Harry to his feet, ignoring Ron's outstretched hand ("Hey Gin, what about me?"). He blushed, then took her other hand and looked into her eyes. Harry had completely forgotten anyone else was there at all, until...

"Oi, you're in love with my sister!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry tore his gaze away from Ginny and simply said, "You've caught on then?"

Ginny smiled at Harry then turned to Ron with her hands on her hips. "And you're in love with our best friend Hermione. You don't see us shouting it to the world." Ron's ears turned pink.

"Just… don't snog around me, right?" Ron looked a little green at that prospect. Then: "Harry, if you hurt her again…"

"Yeah I know. I'll be hexed six ways from Sunday." Harry seemed resigned to this fate.

"No. I'll get Charlie to feed you to a dragon after the rest have had a turn hexing you." Ron looked quite serious about this punishment.

"Honestly, you boys!" Ginny muttered.

"Right then, now that we've got that settled, I need breakfast." Ron seemed entranced by the smells of breakfast, and was quickly gone. Harry smiled wickedly and said,

"I have you alone and at my mercy yet again, Miss Weasley,"

She grinned and murmured, "Oh whatever shall I do, this villain seems bent on taking advantage of my innocence."

At that Harry paused. _Does she really think that?_ Dropping the act, he said,

"You know, Ginny… if we're going somewhere you don't want to go…"

"Harry."

"Because, you can tell me if you want to stop –" Harry felt very uncertain, but Ginny was moving closer to him. Maybe hope isn't lost…

She put her finger on his lips, effectively silencing his doubts. "Trust me Harry, I'll let you know if you've done something I don't like. Until then, shut up and kiss me."

And he did, until Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs for them to come to the table for breakfast, and to be careful not to wake Remus and Nymphadora.

As they went to the kitchen, all Harry could think was, _despite all the bad, there still is some good left for me. And her name is Ginny Weasley._

• • •

The first thing Hermione did when she entered the cottage was to ask her tall, dark and interesting guide to show her to the facilities where she might be able to get herself clean. He raised his eyebrow and gestured toward the stairs.

"I'm quite sure all you will require is in place. Indeed, if I am correct as to the purpose of this cottage, it would not be far wrong to assume there are many amenities that a woman may make use of." He grimaced and turned away, the thoughts seemingly disgusting him. Composing a list in her head, she decided that it wasn't quite at the top of the "Things To Inquire About", but pretty close. _I get the feeling that this colleague of his isn't a very moral person. But at least he's willing to protect us from whatever it is that we're in danger from. Being rich helps too!_ She almost laughed at that thought as she climbed the stairs to find a bathroom.

On the next floor she found three bedrooms, a massive one that obviously belonged to the master of the house, and two guest bedrooms that shared a bathroom. _Thank God the bathroom doesn't connect the two rooms! How awkward would that be?_ _I would be extremely uncomfortable if that were the case. Not that I think he's perverted or anything like that, but it's the principle behind the thing. This whole situation is beyond propriety though, Hermione, you've got to remember that. He's saving me from something really horrible. What that is… I wish I could remember. _She shrugged and got ready to bathe.

• • •

Severus heard her turn on the water from the kitchen. Since there was no one else around to hear him, he started to hum a tune from a musical he'd been persuaded to see by Albus the summer previous. He abruptly stopped when his traitorous mind supplied him with an image of just what Hermione might be doing in the shower at that moment. He groaned and set about making tea the Muggle way on the fire, to try and distract himself from the beautiful young woman upstairs. When the tea was ready, he sat with his back to the door to mentally distance himself from the situation upstairs. He lost himself in thought about the musical, not realizing that he was softly singing the words.

"_Stars in your multitudes, scare to be counted, filling the darkness with order and light you are the sentinels silent and sure keeping watch in the night, keeping watch in the night. You know your place in the sky, you hold your course and your aim and each in your season turns and returns, and is always the same…"_

A soft voice intruded on his thoughts.

"I always liked Eponine. Her part of Les Miserables was so sad in the musical."

Without turning around he replied,

"Gavroche was the one that hit me the hardest. The child didn't deserve to have his life cut short." He laughed then, a humourless and bitter laugh, "Isn't it ironic that the hero of the story is a man who, despite his numerous good deeds, is never considered trustworthy because he was once a criminal but renounced his old ways in an attempt to reach the light?"

"Kind of like you, isn't he? Valjean, I mean," she said. He stood up and turned to look at her. Her eyes were wide, and he could tell that she had just remembered something important. Her eyes flicked to his left arm and he let out a deep breath. _Let your mind resemble a calm sea, Severus. She is a brilliant yet irritating know-it-all when she has her memories, of course she would blurt out whatever she knows now. _

"Bloody Gryffindor know-it-alls," he muttered.

"Pardon me?"

"I didn't say anything."

She looked suspicious, but let it be for the moment. _Good, maybe the girl will give me some peace._ He remembered his manners in the nick of time, and offered her a cup of tea which she accepted. They sat in silence until the sun went down, quietly sipping tea and listening to the fire crackle merrily.

**I had a request for some more of the male portions of the Golden Trio in this chapter, I hope I have adequately performed my duties. And I figured since I love Les Miserables, Severus and Hermione are allowed to love it too. Creative license, people! If you haven't seen Les Miserables I highly suggest it. Our shows at my school were amazing, kudos to the production team, makeup/stage crew, cast and of course my fellow orchestra members! **

**This may be my last update for a while; exams are looming like grey thunderclouds on the horizon, only I'm not looking forward to the storm. Grade 12 is tough, but at least my prom is later today! I can hardly believe it. My dress is so pretty, and almost all my friends are coming. **

**Enough about me, let's hear about you! Drop me a line, tell me how this rag is coming along. Love, hate, indifference? Reviews are reviews! _A review by any other name would look as sweet_ in my email inbox. So if you call them concrit or flames, send them along anyway! Someone tell me what play and playwright my _italicized_ (and slightly altered) quotation is from, and I'll award you with an imaginary snack at random.**


	10. X

**Important!A/N: A thousand apologies for making you, my faithful readers, wait so long for an update in this, my grand work. I've dropped a bunch of 100 word bits about Hermione and Severus, and was contemplating jumping the RW/HG ship on this story… but decided against it. He wouldn't co-operate, and Ron started yelling again, and Harry went all broody, and it was just bad. So, no matter what you see here, Hermione is not going to ditch Ron! (Ok, now that I got the important part over with…)**

**The week break from Canada was interesting, I come back with fresh drabbles and a new perspective on many things in my life, including family members that I was sure were one way but found that fathers can be different than the way mothers paint them with their ex-wife-ly paintbrushes. I think I'm growing up, it's scary. **

**Ahem. Yes. Well, here goes the story.**

**DISCLAIMER: JKR owns the characters, I own my brain and its many weird ideas. Sometimes I wish I didn't own my brain's weird emotion thingies, but hey what can ya do?**

**X**

Opening her eyes in the morning, Hermione was blinded by the sunlight streaming in her window. _Oh bollocks, why is it so bright in here? Oh yeah, I'm not underground anymore. _

"I guess blinding light is better than blinding dark…" she murmured to herself.

The room she stayed in had women's clothes in its closet and chests of drawers, but nearly all of the nightgowns were completely indecent, exposing a shocking amount of leg or a plunging neckline, or were nearly transparent. She chose the most innocent one and prayed the professor was not awake yet to see her in the ridiculous red lacy lingerie as she dashed to the bathroom.

No such luck. Just as she was exiting her room, Professor Snape was coming out of his room yawning in a similar state of undress, clad only in the pants he had worn the previous day. They stopped dead upon seeing each other, speechless.

Hermione tugged her neckline up higher and at the same time tried to tug the bottom hem of her nightgown down. As this action yielded no positive results, she gathered her courage and spoke:

"Good morning, sir." It came out as a bare whisper.

He seemed to recover at her words, and averted his eyes from her chest. He coughed and greeted her with a gruff good morning, then turned and strode quickly into the bathroom. She fled into her bedroom and closed the door quietly. She leaned her back against it, and slid to the floor with her head in her hands.

_Whoa, what was that?_ she questioned in her mind. Then, unbidden, the memory rose in her mind of the shirtless former professor. _Ohhhh… teachers are not allowed to be that yummy. I mean, his teeth are horrible, but that body definitely makes up for it! Why hide it under those robes?_

"Hermione, get a grip!" she told herself sternly. She heard the shower start up, and decided that she should change into clothes that covered her up.

_This is an experience I'd rather forget. I'd definitely trade it for the memories I don't have which I need back!_

In her hurry to change and try to repress the memory of the morning, she forgot about how the professor had been looking at her.

• • •

Severus closed the door and locked it reflexively, then leaned his back against it. He began berating himself:

"What the hell was that, Severus? Staring at her chest in such a manner, no matter how surprised you are to see her, was probably the stupidest and most uncouth thing you've done for a long time." _And I pride myself on not doing stupid things, _he thought. _Especially like that! Behaving like a hormonal teenager, how repellent._

"Severus Tobias Snape, you are a lecherous, disgusting old man," he finished, then turned on the cold water for his shower.

During his ten minute shower he contemplated the wreck that is his adult life, and concluded that he had better use his intellect to wriggle his way out of this entirely inappropriate situation with Miss Granger, and then get himself killed helping the Order. _It is the only thing to do; I destroy all who get close to me. I cannot risk Miss Granger's safety by allowing her to remain with me. Perhaps I can get word to Lupin; he is very adept at saying little to others higher in authority_ (here he snorted; he knew this aspect of Lupin too well)_, and would probably listen to me. He would likely tear me apart afterwards for what I've done, but it's no worse than I deserve. _

His decision made, he stepped out of the shower and shut it off. He stuck his wet head out of the bathroom door, verifying that Miss Granger was nowhere in sight, and then dashed in a very undignified manner into his bedroom, towel wrapped tightly around his waist.

He dried off, dressed and headed downstairs, all without a sighting off Miss Granger. Until he reached the kitchen, that is. She was sitting at the table, staring into a mug of tea as though it held the meaning of life.

"I don't put much store by reading one's tea leaves Miss Granger, and I had assumed you felt similarly by your behaviour in your third year."

She jumped, startled out of her reverie.

"What are you talking about? Reading tea leaves? What utter rubbish. What did I do in third year?" she asked, all in one breath. _Ah, the interrogating and irritating know-it-all returns,_ he thought.

"It was the talk of the staff room: Miss Hermione Granger, the best student of her year, walked out of Trelawney's Divination class before Easter Break. Most of the staff room was quite impressed, and Minerva was far too smug for weeks, telling us all that her prize pupil was 'too bright to put up with such nonsense'," he said, rolling his eyes.

The girl blushed. "I wasn't the best in my year… was I? And who is 'Minerva'?"

He sighed. _I can't wait for her to regain her memory. And yet when she does, she will be in much more danger._ "Minerva McGonagall was the Transfiguration professor and Deputy Headmistress for your first six years of Hogwarts. She is now the Headmistress." He turned away, his carefully blank expression crumbling into one of abject sadness. He heard her chair scrape back and felt her hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry, what is it? Did you not want the Headmaster to retire?" she asked. Her ignorance, brought about by him, caused Severus to fill with equal parts rage and despair. He turned around and shrugged off her hand, black eyes glittering with tears he would not allow himself to shed. He began in a low venomous tone:

"He didn't retire; he is dead. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, killed by the man he considered a son, and the man loved him like the father he never had! A coward, who couldn't summon up the hate to perform the Unforgivable but painless killing curse properly and instead, used a disarming curse to toss him from the top of the Astronomy Tower. I should know: I was the one who did it. Because of that bloody Vow, I had to murder my best friend, my only friend…" He couldn't continue, because his throat suddenly became too constricted with suppressed tears to speak.

She stared at him for an impossibly long moment, and instead of recoiling in horror like any sane person might, she launched herself at his middle and hugged him fiercely. Her shoulders shook as she cried into his chest, and his defences broke down completely as he returned her embrace. They stood there in that kitchen pouring out their grief wordlessly for what seemed an eternity. Eventually their torrent of tears slowed, and Severus searched for a handkerchief in his pocket. He turned her chin up and wiped the tears from her face. She smiled weakly, and offered him her own dry handkerchief for his own face. He took it and stepped back from her, just realizing how close they had been standing. Wiping his eyes, he turned his face away in shame.

"You must think me a fool, to carry on in such a manner as a grown man," he said, his voice unsteady from his grief.

"How could I? You have much more reason to grieve than I. And anyone who could look down on a man who expresses his feelings is the fool, not you," she said, her voice similarly shaky, "Besides, I did the exact same thing; it would be highly hypocritical to criticize you." She shook her head and muttered, "Men are all the same."

He rolled his eyes and poured himself a cup of tea as she startled him with a remark:

"You may be pleased to note that I seem to be regaining many of my memories back as a result of this sharing of emotion. I know I am."

He whirled around to see her smiling, and then her eyes rolled up in her head as she fainted. He raced to her and caught her before she landed on the stone floor as his cup shattered on that same floor.

• • •

Hermione saw her body falling to the ground as though she were an observer on the scene. Instead of her world going black, it got brighter and filled with even more swirling images and voices ringing in her ears. She felt a thousand different sensations, smells, tastes, and yet somehow still managed to keep a tenuous grip on reality by holding onto the sound of Severus' voice (_am I allowed to call him that? Does it really matter?_) calling to her frantically. She felt his arms cradling her and an odd motion as though she was moving, but the pictures and sensations followed her. She felt herself sinking into a soft surface and his arms going away and she reached blindly, not sure if he was the image there, or there, or there…

• • •

Severus placed Hermione on her bed, but she grabbed onto his sleeve and whimpered. He sighed and picked her up again. He sat down on the bed, and arranged her so that her back was leaning against his chest, and tightened his arms around her.

"Hush, Miss Gra– Hermione. I'm not leaving. Stay with me, it will pass," he told her in what he hoped was a steady and comforting voice. _This side effect was not written in that bloody tome when I read about that spell. Oh hell, I'm shite when it comes to comforting people. Well, we comforted each other in the kitchen, but that was completely different… wasn't it? _He paused a moment. _At least she isn't flailing about. Perhaps just staying close will be enough._ He shrugged, and then continued to murmur things to her as well as rub her arms, since she was becoming cold to the touch, one of the expected side effects.

_What have I gotten myself into? I was prepared for chill, disorientation, vomiting…not for an essentially comatose young woman in my lap who won't let me leave! Not that I want to run away and leave her here. I would prefer to have the option for a quick trip to the loo, or to fetch something however. In this position I am most likely unable to reach my wand. _ He felt around his pocket and pulled out the wand. _Never mind then. _

Severus leaned back against the headboard cradling the young woman, and silently begged whichever deity was listening that this would be over soon.

• • •

The Weasley family, Harry, Remus Lupin and Tonks were all sitting down to breakfast when Ron abruptly stood up, his chair tipping over with a clatter.

"Ronald Weasley!" his mother shouted

He ignored her and addressed his question to his father,

"Who's at Hogwarts right now?"

"Why do you need to know, son?" Arthur looked vaguely puzzled, but he looked that way until he got a few cups of coffee into him in the morning. Remus answered for him:

"Generally the Heads of House, as well as the Headmaster or Headmistress, stay over the summer, though in these times who knows? You can be sure that Professor McGonagall will be there sometime today."

"Great. Harry, let's go."

"Wait just a minute young man! Why on earth are you going to Hogwarts, and before you've eaten all your breakfast?" Mum cried, confusion evident on her face.

"I've had an idea, and I need to ask Professor McGonagall about something to be sure it'll work," he said as he walked to the fireplace and tossed in a bit of Floo powder and cried "Headmistress' office, Hogwarts!" Harry walked over to where he was standing and smiled sheepishly.

"I should follow him; someone's got to keep him from doing something completely daft. Headmistress' office, Hogwarts!" he cried as he stepped into the fire.

Ginny leapt up from her place at the table.

"Someone's got to make sure they eat breakfast in the kitchens and keep from doing something stupider than usual, bye!" and with that, she followed the boys through the fireplace.

The four adults left at the table looked at each other in disbelief, and Tonks moved as though to get up.

"No you don't! You've got a baby to worry about, and Remus too, if you refuse to take care of yourself. Travelling by Floo may be the safest kind of travel, but you Nymphadora Tonks, will sit down and finish your breakfast before you even think of following those children into Merlin knows what," Molly ordered. Tonks plunked back down into her chair, irritated.

"I suppose this means I'm on desk duty for the next while in the Auror's office, eh Remus? You'll be quite pleased to have me out of harm's way," she snapped. Then: "This is your fault!" Instead of a frown like she had expected though, a smirk appeared on his face.

"It takes two, love. And I didn't hear you objecting at any of the many times."

Molly and Arthur exchanged knowing looks while Tonks sulked and Remus smiled.

**It is friggin late right now; I spent 4 hours writing this chapter. I hope you all appreciate this very much, because I have to be up at 7 to baby-sit a one and a half year old cousin and it is 2:30. Alas the follies of youth. **

**Oh yeah, I had no idea what Snape's middle name is, so I guessed. That is his father's name, correct?**

**Happy happy, joy joy I'm turning 18 in less than a month!**

**Yes it was random, what of it? Mwahahaha. :P**


	11. XI

**A/N: I hope to be posting this moments after chapter ten, but who knows. In any case, I'll keep 'er short. I hope this story wraps up soon, because I don't know about you but I'm starting to get a bit bored with it. Maybe I'm just not suited for writing longer fiction. I seem to do ok with the 100 word drabbles, but… oh well. Are you all enjoying this rag? Well it's been fun getting some feedback, and just writing is a bit liberating, though the comments of some who have read my work and know me in real life have been less than encouraging. My mind feels like a pressure cooker, I've got so many ideas swirling around in there that if I don't finish this one soon and let off a bit of the steam of a multi-chapter bit soon, my brain will likely explode. And with that, this is the end of my ramble. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters. I will never own the characters, in all likelihood. The signs seem to point that way. No biggie. I'm just playing with them; JKR won't even know they're missing. **

**XI**

Ron sprawled across the floor of Headmistress McGonagall's floor and was just getting up as Harry came through the fireplace behind him, knocking him to the floor. Ron rolled away and Harry started to get up as Ginny fell through the fireplace onto Harry.

"Well, I seem to have landed on something soft. Could it be Harry's head?" Ginny teased. Harry stuck his tongue out at her as he playfully pushed her off of him.

"Why is it that you both got soft landings?" Ron complained.

"You went first!" Harry and Ginny said at once, and all three of them laughed.

Just then, the Headmistress stepped into her office, obviously wondering what all the noise was about.

"Alright, you three brush yourselves off and explain yourselves. It is generally considered good manners to owl before arriving through one's fireplace. I assume you have a good explanation for this?"

Ginny shoved Ron's shoulder and said, "It was all _his_ idea. Act first, think later." _What a prat!_

"Thanks Gin, love you too. Actually Professor, I thought we could use the Mirror of Erised to locate Hermione. It shows you what you most desire right? Well, what I want the most is to see Hermione again. Do you know where Professor Dumbledore may have put it?"

There was silence in the office. Then:

"Mister and Miss Weasley, and Mister Potter, and of course Minerva, it is good to see you again."

They turned simultaneously to see Albus Dumbledore's portrait hanging on the wall, smiling benevolently.

"Ronald, your idea is an excellent one. The Mirror is where it has been for the past 6 years: under the trapdoor in the corridor on the third floor. You and Harry surely remember the way."

Harry spoke first:

"Of course we do, Professor, it would be a difficult thing to forget. Sir… do you remember… you died… Snape killed you!"

"Professor Snape, Harry. And I should hope so, because that's exactly what I told him to do. Minerva my dear, you may want to sit down with the children; I imagine this may take a few minutes to explain. I must ask you all to hold your questions until the end.

Severus is Draco's godfather, and Narcissa came with Bellatrix Lestrange to his home last summer to beg his aid in a task set for young Draco. His task was to kill me. Narcissa made him swear an Unbreakable Vow to help Draco in any way he could and protect him, as well as to complete his task should Draco falter. I believed that since I was already unwell because of the Horcrux I destroyed – it was cursed, and the curse would have killed me much sooner without Severus' help, but he couldn't stop the curse and not for lack of trying – I had decided that instead of both Severus and Draco dying for their failure, Severus because of the Vow, Draco because of Tom, it should be only me to die. After all, I have lived far longer than both of those lads put together, and what I left behind is in capable hands. It's all in my will, and the members of the Order are very competent. You all will inform me of how the war goes, yes?" He saw nodding heads. "Excellent! I shall miss eating lemon drops, though. Unless…" He left the portrait briefly, and returned with a bowl of candy.

"How did you… never mind. Albus, I… I don't know what…" The Headmistress trailed off. "I miss you so much, Albus. I lo–" She realized there were others still in the room, and she coughed then resumed her normal brisk manner. "What shall we do about Severus? He quite obviously cannot contact us directly, or he will risk ruining his dearly bought credibility with Voldemort. Did you have any idea as to how to deal with this?"

The three teenagers realized that they should get going and headed through the door. Harry turned at the last moment and asked nervously,

"Sir, are there still traps there, like the Devil's Snare?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, dear boy, since the Sorcerer's Stone is destroyed I decided that if anyone needed to get to the Mirror, it ought to be a bit easier to get to. Beware of the lure of the Mirror; it can be very tempting to simply gaze at what you want most. I'm sure that will be no problem for young Mister Weasley, as he's probably long gone. You might wish to remind him of the slight drop from the trapdoor, which will save a visit to the Hospital Wing."

Harry and Ginny said goodbye and exited the office, but Ginny pulled out a set of Extendable Ears.

"You go on ahead, I'm not too fussed about seeing a musty old corridor, and the idea of the Mirror of Erised frightens me a bit. I'm going to listen here till you two get back. Hurry!" she said, and kissed Harry swiftly.

Harry rushed down the stairs and Ginny put the Extendable Ear on the door and sat down on the top step to listen.

**A/N: Everything from here till the part where Ginny leaves is going on inside the room, except things in _italics_, which are Ginny's thoughts about the conversation…**

"Albus, how could you let yourself die? Severus could have saved you, but you let him kill you. I shouldn't have let how I feel slip in front of the children, but I wasn't thinking. Why were you away from your portrait all this time? I needed you." _Ouch, not good. Maybe I shouldn't be listening to this, it seems pretty private… Maybe just a little more won't hurt._

"Severus could not have saved me. As for leaving… It seems like a harsh punishment, but it was for you that I did it. I know you are a very capable woman, and you do not need to consult me for everything. I suppose I was just making sure you started off on the right foot. And… I was afraid you would judge me harshly about my decision. It was very selfish of me, I know. We have had some spectacular arguments, and you seem to win them all." _Sweet Merlin, what is going on here? More importantly, what went on here? I'm so not leaving until I get some answers._

"Just because you used to be a Transfiguration professor doesn't mean you could ever anticipate some of the things I put on you. Giving you that donkey's tail and ears was probably my favourite." Both laughed. "And you grovel so well, how could I resist you? But seriously Albus, what am I going to do without you? My best friend, my confidante, the love of my life…" _Am I hearing correctly? Is she crying?_

"There there, my dear. I will always be here, on the wall for you to talk to. It isn't much, but perhaps it will be enough. It is, after all, the only thing we have. Just know that I still care for you as much as I did in life, and will forever." _Ok, now I'm going to cry. Time to go see to the boys, and make sure they're not in too much trouble. Wow… I think I should keep this one to myself._

Ginny took the Extendable Ear off the door and snuck silently out past the gargoyles.

• • •

Harry took several secret passages to the third floor, beating Ron there despite his head start. He sat in front of the door waiting for him, and he arrived with Ginny just behind him. Harry stared, and then shrugged. Who knew how Ginny got there at the same time as Ron? As if reading his mind Ginny called,

"Ron got his leg caught in Neville's usual trick stair in his hurry. I pulled him out." Harry nodded. Ron's ears were pink but otherwise he seemed fine.

A muttered unlocking charm later, the three were inside the corridor.

"Excellent, no Fluffy this time," Harry quipped. He opened the trap door, but had to hold Ron back from jumping down.

"Not only do we not know what's down there, there isn't a Devil's Snare to break our fall. Don't go just yet, I've got an idea." Harry went into the hall and Summoned three school brooms. He came back and gave Ron and Ginny the brooms he summoned.

"We should really keep our brooms in our pockets, shrunk down, just in case we ever need an escape route," Harry thought aloud.

"Too late for that, but nice thinking anyway Harry," said Ginny. They mounted their brooms, and Ron went first into the hole with his wand lit. While he was gone, Harry took the time to ask Ginny about what she'd eavesdropped on.

"Oh, just some strategy stuff, nothing really interesting," she said, but she didn't meet his eyes. _That's weird. Oh well, can't be important, or she'd have told me. _

Ron called back up the hole: "There's nothing down here, what are you two lovebirds waiting for? Quit snogging and let's get a move on."

They travelled underground on broomstick for quite a while. When they entered the room where the giant chess pieces were, Ron shuddered and zipped a little faster across the room. They finally reached the last room after what seemed like an eternity of flying underground. Dismounting from and shrinking their brooms, Ron again insisted on going first.

They entered and there it was: the Mirror of Erised. Harry saw Voldemort's lifeless body crumble into dust over and over, while he stood with an arm around Ginny, and Ron and Hermione were on his other side. _I just want Voldemort gone, and them safe… and that's what I see. I just have to work to make it reality._

• • •

Ron stared at the mirror in horror. He was seeing Hermione, alright: she was with Snape! He was seeing her talk to him, and he yelled at her, and she hugged him, and suddenly they were crying! He couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene in front of him. They dried their tears, and Snape moved away for a minute, then Hermione fainted. Ron gasped, and almost fainted himself when he saw Snape pick her up and carry her somewhere. _She's hurt, or something, and I'm not there to help her! All she has is the Greasy Git!_

"Ron! RON!" Someone was shouting at him… He finally looked away from that horrible mirror to see Harry white as a sheet and Ginny shaking him and yelling at him.

"Oh, sorry," he said distantly, his mind unable to comprehend what he had just seen.

"Are you ok Ron?" "Has something happened to her?"

"She's… she's with Snape. I guess I should look again, only I should be more specific about my greatest desire. I could only see Hermione and a bit of stuff around her," he said, turning to the mirror again.

"No! Ron, don't do it now, you've obviously had a terrible shock. Let me," Ginny pleaded, but it was no use; he had already looked at the mirror.

At once he saw a moderately sized cottage in a forest clearing, and the words Malfoy Cottage, no Floo Connection at the bottom of the mirror. It faded to picture of a bit of forest with a path in it and the words Closest Apparition Point at the bottom of the mirror.

Ron stepped away from the mirror, determination evident in his stance.

"Ok, I've got it. Harry, you'll need to use Legilimency to get the exact location we have to Apparate to, and whoever's better at Apparating should take Ginny."

"Ron. We can't Apparate while inside of Hogwarts. And I'm not sure I can even get the memory from your mind. The Occulumency lessons went horribly and he didn't even try to teach me Legilimency," Harry pointed out.

Ron's shoulders slumped. _Oh yeah. I hate it when I have a great plan that'll never work._

"Hey don't worry about it, maybe we can talk to Remus or McGonagall or someone. Maybe they know something about Legilimency, or can help us somehow. We'll find her, Ron." Ginny reassured him, and gave him a hug. Harry joined in, shouting "Group hug!" and they all laughed, took their brooms back out, and left for the Headmistress' office.

**Yeah I know the Mirror of Erised is a common plot device. It fit well though, I'm not knocking it. I hope you enjoy the story, and feel free to review, or not, and tell your friends, or not. The AD/MM thing isn't really crucial to the story; I just like it, hehe. Well, I'm off, good morrow. **


	12. XII

**A/N: Ahoy mates! I can't wait to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2, oh man! Yarr, you scurvy dogs. **

**Oh yeah, this chapter's so long because it will be the final one. Unless I do a little epilogue, this is it folks! It's been fun. **

**DISCLAIMER! I am not JKR. She is good at writing. You've seen mine. Just do the comparison, and you will see that this is nothing compared to that. Except I didn't really like book 6, it was like reading an extra-long FanFiction gone terribly, terribly wrong. **

**XII**

"Professor McGonagall!" Ron yelled up the stairs even as he, Ginny and Harry raced up them. They skidded to a halt in front of her desk where they found Remus waiting with her for them talking to Albus Dumbledore's portrait. He turned to them and exclaimed,

"Hello lads! And Ginny, too. Find out the whereabouts of Hermione?"

"She's with Snape at Malfoy's cottage in some forest. I have a picture of it in my head, and the closest point we can Apparate to. Unless you can do a Portkey there, that's all we have." Ron said, breathless from running up the stairs and shouting.

"I suppose it's a good thing Albus taught me to do a bit of Legilimency. He said it might come in handy sometime in the course of being the Headmistress of this school," said McGonagall.

"I could probably pry Nymphadora away from Molly long enough to create a Portkey. That would be best, I think, especially if Hermione is in no shape to Apparate," mused Remus, "I'll go right now." With that, he tossed some Floo powder into the fireplace and called out The Burrow.

Professor McGonagall lifted a heavy bowl out of a cabinet and set it on her desk.

"Mr. Weasley, perhaps we should put the memory into a Pensieve. That would make it much easier for Miss Tonks to access, and would save you an invasion into your mind," Professor McGonagall supplied.

Ron shuffled his feet. "I've never put a memory into a Pensieve before, can you teach me?"

"Certainly. You simply concentrate on the memory, touch your wand to your temple, and it should be a silver thread on the tip of your wand, which you deposit into the Pensieve. After Miss Tonks views it, you will of course be able to retrieve it."

_Alright, that seems simple enough…_ Ron concentrated hard then touched his wand to his temple. A silvery wriggling thread was on the end of his wand when he drew it away from his head, and he put it into the Pensieve. A few moments later, Tonks and Remus came out of the fireplace.

"I hear you need the services of an Auror," Tonks said cheerfully, "Something about a Portkey to go save Hermione, right?"

"The location is in the Pensieve in front of you, Tonks. We mustn't lose any time if we are to rescue Hermione. Severus may not be loyal to Voldemort, but he may be forced to do something unspeakable to her on His orders."

"I'm gone," said Tonks, sticking her hand into the Pensieve. She took it out moments later, and shook her head. "I wish I could go, but I know you all would jump me for even trying."

McGonagall sent her a questioning look and Tonks slapped Remus on the back of the head. "You seemed pretty proud of it at the Weasley's! Well, Minerva m'dear, I am pregnant, and this loveable idiot of a werewolf is going to be a daddy."

"That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you two." Professor McGonagall's face lit up with a smile. "Perhaps we should have a cup of tea while the rest are off to retrieve Hermione."

"Wicked! No offence, Weasleys, but your mum was driving me crazy. Though I'm sure her advice is all awesome, as all her kids turned out great," said Tonks.

"All but Percy," Ron muttered, and Tonks whacked him on the back of the head.

"Hey you, just because he's working for the Ministry doesn't mean he's a complete prat. I'll have you know that the only reason I can make this Portkey is that I work for the Ministry. I'm an Auror, remember? And we learn how to make Portkeys in training. If you don't register them with the Ministry, technically they are illegal but I can wiggle my way out of it by telling them I used it to get to Hermione. And if they don't buy it, they fire me, which is fine by me, since I'm going to be raising a kid. I would like to see his or her first birthday, after all," she said. "Plus, I've talked to Percy a few times around the Ministry. He's getting married to Penelope Clearwater, did you know that? He only took the promotion from Fudge so he could make more money, because Penelope's parents wouldn't let him marry her if he couldn't support her. I guess that didn't come up around the dinner table before you guys all deserted him, eh? He really misses you all, I can tell. He was just doing what he believed in, and now that there is overwhelming evidence to show how stupid Fudge was, I'm pretty sure he can see he was wrong. Maybe you should talk to him."

The whole room was silent after that. Tonks added,

"I'd appreciate you not telling your mother I knew that and didn't tell her. She would yell at me until she turned blue."

Ron and Ginny looked at each other and nodded. _Yeah, not only would she yell at Tonks, she'd probably kill the messenger, _thought Ron. Everyone else nodded too.

"So, time for that Portkey! Shouldn't we get some sort of back-up, or will this lot be alright?" Tonks asked.

"Could you possibly get Arthur, and ask Molly to come to tea with us? I promise I won't mention anything about Percy, and we three can talk Order business to keep off the baby topic," asked Professor McGonagall.

"I'll just make the Portkey. Remus, go on."

He rolled his eyes and simply said, "Yes dear." _That reminds me of Dad,_ thought Ron.

Tonks pointed her wand at a scrap of parchment on McGonagall's desk and with a little wave of her wand she said, "_Portus_." The parchment glowed briefly then returned to its innocuous appearance.

"I wonder what would happen if you tried to use two Portkeys at once?" Harry asked.

"I imagine it would be similar to splinching when you Apparate. I would advise against trying to find out," said Professor McGonagall.

"Just wondering."

Dad, Remus and Mum stepped out of the Floo at that moment.

"Hello Arthur and Molly! It has been quite some time since I've seen you," called Dumbledore from his portrait. The two newcomers stared at his portrait, apparently speechless.

"Arthur, before you go please know this: Severus had to do what he did, and I made sure he did. It was part of an Unbreakable Vow. I will tell you more upon your return, or one of the fine gentlemen you are travelling with will relate the facts to you. I tell you this so that you do not attack Severus should you run into him at the cottage where Hermione is being held." Dumbledore said, and then made a shooing motion with his hand. "There is no time to lose, hurry now."

Everyone but Mum, Professor McGonagall and Tonks grabbed the Portkey. Ron felt a tugging behind his navel, and suddenly they landed in Malfoy's front hallway with a loud thud from all the bodies hitting the floor.

_Hold on Hermione, I'm coming! I love you, please be ok…_

• • •

Severus heard a loud thump come from somewhere downstairs. _Damn! I sincerely hope that isn't a Death Eater. Or anyone coming to seek vengeance for Dumbledore's death,_ Severus thought worriedly. _I suppose I could go check, she's quieted down. _ He smoothed the hair on her forehead and shifted her to lie down in the bed. She didn't stir and Severus let out the breath he had been holding. Impulsively, he smoothed the curls on her face away and kissed her forehead. He gripped his wand tightly as he started towards the door. He stopped just before he opened the door and Disillusioned himself. _It isn't that effective, but it's better than nothing. Unless Greyback is here, then he'll catch my scent._ At that he shuddered, put a Silencing spell on his feet and left the room.

He crept down the hall and got to the stairs. He looked down them to see a motley collection of people standing in the hallway. _Oh hell._ Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin, Ginny Weasley, Ronald Weasley, and Harry Bloody Potter were all standing there attempting to organize themselves. Lupin stopped mid-sentence, turned to look directly at him and said,

"Someone's on the stairs. Alright, whoever you are, show yourself, or I will hex you." He took a step forward, sniffed again then asked, "Is that you Severus?"

Severus sighed then removed the charm.

"I assume you're all out for my blood. Go ahead, dismember me. Albus deserves his revenge. I offer no defence; just get it over with relatively quickly."

They all looked rather confused.

"As tempting as that is, that's not actually what we're here for. Where's Hermione?" Potter asked. The werewolf rolled his eyes and said,

"Dumbledore told us about the Vow, and that he actually wanted you to do it. There's no need for such dramatics, Severus."

_He told them? Of course, his portrait is now hanging in Minerva's office,_ Severus thought. He nodded his head in the direction of the stairs and said,

"If you will follow me, I'll lead you to Miss Granger's room. I will ask someone to be Disillusioned outside the door however, just in case a Death Eater shows up. If Voldemort plans on coming I will know," and pointed to his left arm. The group trooped up the stairs after him. He stopped outside the door.

"Miss Granger is recovering from a temporary memory charm that I had to place on her so that she would be unable to tell anyone any pertinent information about the Order or Potter or whatever they might ask her about. She is unconscious right now, but she may awaken at any time, with her mind still flooding with memories. I am hesitant to bring more chaos into her recovering mind," Severus cautioned.

"You sound like you actually care, Snape," Potter said incredulously.

"Maybe it's because I do, Potter. Why does everyone automatically assume that just because I have a foul temperament that I hate everyone that I come into contact with?" asked Severus. _I'm not a completely heartless bastard._

Miss Weasley piped up. "In his defence, sir, you haven't been very kind to Hermione in the past. It's not like we have any reason to believe that you like any of us Gryffindors very much."

"Aside from the fact that I have repeatedly saved your lives?" replied Severus disdainfully. "It doesn't matter. I would prefer that at least Arthur and Lupin guard the door. If you cannot control yourself, I will ask you to leave the room. When she is fully recovered, take her with you when you leave."

"Will you not come with us?" Arthur asked.

"What do I have exactly? A death sentence no matter which way I go. No one will believe the testimony of a portrait when I am arrested for Albus' murder, and I will be tortured and killed when the Dark Lord returns to find Herm– Miss Granger is gone. My death will be drawn out and painful, so I choose being tortured into insanity then Avada Kedavra over having my soul sucked out by a Dementor." Severus said bitterly. _What do they think I'm going to do? I cannot return, and I certainly will not survive here. Even if I left, the Mark would burn until I returned just to make him end the agony._

"Dumbledore wouldn't want you to have killed him just for you to die. He always has a plan hidden within a plan with a back-up plan, all of which he tells no one about. He most likely has some form of proof that would get you off the hook." Potter protested.

"Why do you want me to live so badly?" Severus exclaimed.

"Why do you want to die so badly?" Potter shot back. _Don't you know the answer to that question, idiotic boy? For one, I killed Albus Dumbledore! Dunderhead._

There was a deep silence. Then Lupin and Arthur Disillusioned themselves. Ronald and Ginny went into the room, followed by Severus then Potter. Miss Weasley sat on Potter who was in a chair across the room, and Weasley knelt immediately at Hermione's side and held her hand. Severus looked at them with disdain, then felt Hermione's forehead: ice cold.

"Weasley, I'm sure you will leap at a chance to get closer to Miss Granger. Her body temperature is getting quite low, and casting magic on her at this stage will do more harm than good." Severus said.

Without taking his eyes off her, he nodded. Severus helped to lift her and settle her against his chest when he was seated in her bed. Looking at Hermione in Weasley's arms caused a ripple of something unpleasant (Jealousy? Sadness? He wasn't sure) in his heart. She sighed and snuggled into Weasley, but reached for Severus' hand as he conjured a chair beside her. The group sat in relative silence for a long moment, with only the sound of their breathing disturbing the quiet.

"Hey, she feels warm again," Weasley whispered.

• • •

Hermione felt the torrent of sensations slowing down, and opened her eyes again. She felt arms around her, and someone was holding her hand. She coughed, and looked around the room.

"Harry! Ginny! Severus! Where's Ron?" she croaked.

"Miss Granger, your astounding abilities must need more time. When have you known Weasley, Potter, and yourself to be apart when one of you is injured?" Professor Snape's voice was unusually gentle. She felt the arms squeeze her, and she turned her head.

"Hey." Ron's voice was shaky, and he looked like he was barely holding back tears.

"Oh Ron," she said, and he kissed her softly on the lips.

"I thought you… I thought… Oh Hermione, I missed you so much." He buried his head between her neck and her shoulder, and she felt the tears he tried not to shed wetting her skin.

"Wait a minute, you just complimented Hermione, and didn't shred her to bits for calling you by your first name," Harry said, "Are you feeling alright, sir?"

"You just referred to me respectfully, are you sure you aren't the one who is ill?" Professor Snape shot back. Ron scrubbed his eyes and stood up, Hermione still in his arms. Hermione squeaked and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Don't worry, I won't drop you. I could never hurt you," he whispered. Hermione glimpsed the professor's face and he seemed slightly pained by the sight of the two of them, but the blank mask reappeared when he realized she was looking at him.

"Ok, let's get out of here. My dad's got the Portkey," said Ginny, and the group opened the door to see… nothing.

"Arthur, we're still Disillusioned, and Hermione's awake," said Remus' voice from the general vicinity of the stairs. Both men reappeared and Mr. Weasley held out the parchment.

"Everyone grab on. When everyone's got hold, I'll say the password."

Everyone but Professor Snape had at least a finger on the parchment, or was holding onto someone who was touching the parchment.

"Sir? Why aren't you coming?" Hermione asked, still in Ron's arms. _What's going on… _she thought.

"I will stay here, and face the Dark Lord's wrath for allowing you to escape."

"That's just silly. Come on, there's plenty of room for you to grab a corner of the parchment."

He stood there motionless for a moment, but reluctantly reached into the centre of the group and grasped a corner of the parchment with his left hand. His face contorted with pain and his right hand gripped his left arm.

"If we are to leave, do it soon, or the Dark Lord will be in the house and we will all die!" he groaned.

"Weird Sisters Rock," Mr. Weasley said, and Hermione felt the familiar pulling sensation as they Portkeyed to the Headmistress' office.

They landed haphazardly on the floor as Mrs. Weasley, Professor McGonagall and Tonks all looked over from where they were laughing over their tea.

"Hermione!" the three women started speaking at once.

"How are you dear?" "What have you been doing?" "Wotcher, I hope you didn't need too much saving. Want some tea?"

"She has just regained her entire memory, she is understandably tired." More exclamations followed this statement by Professor Snape, but he ploughed on. "She has not been harmed physically, I made sure of that. However, some chocolate would not go amiss for her. As for myself, I suppose I will be a hunted man by all sides, and will go mad from this bloody Mark burning!" He was still gripping his arm.

"I am to assume there is no way to take the Mark off?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Short of me dying, no there is no way to take it off. It is more than a mere tattoo," he said through clenched teeth, "He seems to be rather infuriated with me."

"It's more than a tattoo, right? And there is a snake in it?" asked Harry, "Maybe I could talk to the snake."

"You are too important to the war to tangle with the Dark Arts to save my pathetic life," he gasped, and would have fallen to the ground had Remus not grabbed his shoulders to keep him upright. Someone placed a chair underneath him to sit in, and Hermione motioned for Ron to put her down. She walked over to him and gently pried his right hand off his left arm, and examined the stark black symbol burning on his arm. The skin around it was red and puffy, and there were nail marks in his arm where he gripped it.

"Are you sure you can't… cut it off?" she asked timidly.

"The skin of the tattoo, or the arm?"

"Either."

"I'm not sure it will help either way, because as I say, it is more than just ink in my skin. If it stops the pain…" he trailed off, apparently unable to speak.

She helped him to his feet, put his left arm carefully around her shoulders and Ron came over at her beckoning motion to put his right arm around his shoulders.

"Let's get you to the Hospital Wing," Ron said, and threw Floo powder into McGonagall's fireplace.

Arthur called out that they were walking up to the Hospital Wing just after they stepped in the fire.

As they stepped out of the fireplace, Madam Pomfrey was walking out of her office. She shrieked and reached for her wand when she saw Professor Snape.

"No! Don't!" Hermione cried.

"Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley are you insane? That is…" Madam Pomfrey sputtered.

"We know who it is, and if you go talk to Dumbledore's portrait you'd know the whole story, but suffice to say that there's more to the story and he's not evil, now help him!" Hermione said in a rush.

"He's lucky that I have to help everyone when they're hurt, or I'd hex him so fast…" She helped him onto a bed, and Hermione sat in the chair beside it. Ron stood behind the chair with his hands on Hermione's shoulders.

Severus let out a choked sound that could've been a laugh.

"You're… all talk, Poppy. Couldn't… hex me worse than… this," he panted.

"His Mark?" The teenagers nodded. "I don't see how I can help, short of lopping off the arm." They looked steadily at her. "You're joking right? There has to be some other way."

"Well, Harry offered to talk to the snake, but the professor told him not to. As they're walking up here, we either wait around with him in excruciating pain, or we try to take off the arm, or burn off the Mark."

"Haven't tried… using caustic potion… might burn off…"

Hermione shushed him, saying, "Save your strength, don't talk."

"You… never stopped… in my class."

"I wasn't being personally attacked by Voldemort in class either. So shush."

"Acromantula venom… basilisk venom… if Potter wants a mission to go on for me… get one of those… if it doesn't get the Mark off, at least it will finish me off."

Ron finally spoke up: "Alright sir, I've tried to be quiet here and let Hermione take control, because let's face it, she's better at that than I am. But if you die now, she will be blaming herself for not saving you. So shut up and live, Professor."

Professor Snape looked mildly startled.

"Didn't know you had it in you, Weasley. Gryffindors…" he trailed off.

The others burst into the Hospital Wing at that moment. Harry and Ginny came over, and Harry, ignoring the professor's cry of protest, started to speak Parseltongue to the snake on his arm.

"Madam Pomfrey, can you go to Professor Snape's private stores and grab some basilisk venom, or acromantula venom? I think we're still going to need it." Hermione asked, and ignored her muttered comment about who was the medi-witch in the wing.

"Whoa, the snake is moving around!" Ginny said as she pointed to it.

Harry paused his hissing to tell Remus to grab a knife and cut the surface of the professor's skin where the snake's head was, and to have a bowl ready, then continued hissing eerily. Remus returned and cut Snape's arm. Immediately, black ink mixed with blood poured from his arm into the bowl, and the snake seemed to be wriggling out of Snape's arm. The ink drained from the rest of his tattoo through that diagonal gash in his arm. Madam Pomfrey returned through the Floo with vials of clear liquid, but by that time the ink had almost all drained out of his arm, and it was mostly blood that was pouring from his arm. She immediately pulled out a Blood Replenishing potion and made Professor Snape drink it. Once the Mark was gone, Madam Pomfrey wrapped his arm up in bandages to stop the bleeding.

"Why's he asleep?" Ron asked.

"I put a sleeping potion in the mix with the Blood Replenishing potion so he would finally get some rest. You did well, everyone. There will be no repeats of you lot taking care of someone without me to supervise, but as I can't speak snake, I suppose I couldn't have helped in this case," Madam Pomfrey admitted.

Hermione stood up and turned to Ron. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered,

"Thank you for helping me. I know you don't like Professor Snape…"

"He protected you when I couldn't, how could I let him die? Plus, you would've blamed yourself, and I don't want you to be hurt so badly when it's not your fault. I love you so much, Hermione. I had no appetite when you were gone, can you believe it?" he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Really?" she teased. "Ron, I love you. It was so odd, because I could feel that I was missing someone, but I couldn't remember anything so I wasn't sure if maybe I was going crazy. Now, I didn't get a proper greeting when we were at the cottage –"

Ron cut her off, his lips capturing hers in a breathtaking kiss.

_Fin._

**And there it is! The End! **

**I borrowed the idea of Harry talking to the snake in the Dark Mark on Snape's arm from Abraxan. Her stories, _The Refiner's Fire_ and _The Time Of Destiny_ are amazing! Read them. **

**I'll be back again, maybe with this fic, definitely with other fanfiction about Harry Potter. Wow I can't believe I finished my first ever fanfiction story! YAY!**


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